CMT - People Will Talk

According to many traditions and popular opinion, couples should marry at a very early age. Once they're wed they should immediately have children and raise them in a spacious home, with a white picket fence. In later years, the partners will retire at the same time. Their deaths should occur close to each other, so they can be laid in the same plot of land.

The surviving children bear children, and they'll live as their parents and grandparents did. Every man marries a woman, and each woman pairs with a man. All of them settle down before the age of thirty and the cycle continues, until the end of time.  

It goes without saying that each person marries once. Divorce is unacceptable, and children born out of wedlock are absolutely disgraceful. There is only one path you're expected to follow; naturally, I wonder about how many actually do. I'm sure some families adhere to these rules, but I doubt they'd see more than a generation, before someone doesn't conform.


Classic Movie Trailers - People Will Talk (1951)


I can't read much of the above before I realize the absurdity. Think about the amount of people in a small town. What are the chances that all residents live like I've described? What about the next town over and the big city next to that? How many of humanity's billions, have fallen in line with marriage conventions? 

Of course, not everyone agrees on this subject. There are religions that let people commit to more than one person. In some areas, it's common for women to wed much older men. Whatever customs dominate your space, I have little doubt that they aren't always adopted.

It's helpful to remember that appearances can be deceiving. I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating; "normalcy" can be illusion and life is not what it seems. The presence of a wedding ring does not describe a relationship, and a marriage certificate is not an account of history. Think about a husband and wife that are celebrating twenty years together; how much would you wager that they've been happy that long?

A love that lasts for decades, may not seem so strange. You might think to your own union, or the one enjoyed by your parents. Your sisters and brothers could have hitched a long time ago, with absolutely no visible signs of turmoil. If you ask me, it's likely that you don't know all the details.

Think about the length of time that we're considering. Think about how we grow and change in the space of just one month. Think about how a meeting can change a life forever. Does anything remain constant for long periods of time? Anything at all?

The queerest thing about societal norms is the fact that people actually expect them. Numbers-wise they should be exceptions, instead of things that occur with any regularity. Despite social pressures and consequences, there's no way the nuclear family can be a catch-all. If life isn't simple, how can love be?

Guys, if you're in love be happy that she's single. If she has kids, or happens to be pregnant, forget your assumptions about family. How it comes together is really unimportant. What matters is that you can celebrate, without having to pretend.


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Next Week: It's War with "The Desert Fox", followed by "The Enemy Below".