Already Married

I am continually fascinated by stories of long term couples either breaking up awaiting a marriage or having the long awaited wedding. They usually go along the same lines as a recent story in the Daily Telegraph’s “Confidential” pages (21/1/09).

Rugby League player, Craig Wing, has split with his ‘partner’ of 10 years, Zoe Foster. It is reported that Ms Foster was tired of waiting for a marriage proposal. It all sounds fair enough so far, no bloke should take 10 years to propose to the girl he loves.

However in the next paragraph it is reported that Ms Foster is now moving out of their Bronte apartment. This changes things. These two were cohabitating, which means they were married under common law, they just didn’t have the wedding. By law they had the same rights as any married couple would have had. So why would she be hanging out for a wedding? Perhaps if she lived a bit further away he would have proposed to be closer to her.

Men being men, if we’re being given something without going to any extra effort then the girls shouldn’t expect any extra effort. As in, if you’re living with a fella, don’t expect him to propose any time soon. Why??? Because you are married already. One can only assume that the man is already getting what usually comes with a marriage as well, so why bother with the wedding?

Some men do end up proposing, perhaps reluctantly, and the girls get all excited about the big wedding even though they have been married for many years according to common law.

Some people consider cohabitation to be like a trial marriage. However this is a contradiction in terms. If you listen to Phillip Jenson’s sermon series “Love, Sex & Marriage” (he acknowledges that the order is wrong), he states that a marriage is for life, therefore by it’s very nature it cannot be temporary.

People will get it eventually.

Have We Hit A New Low?

A vocal portion of the population is making noise about some proposals from parliament.

Night Spot Lockout

In an effort to curb alcohol fueled violence the NSW govt proposed various rules for pubs and clubs. Such as a 2am lockout, a closed bar for 10 mins each hour, no cocktails past midnight and only plastic glasses. Police suggest that most of our street violence occurs when people exit nightspots filled with alcohol in the early hours of the morning.

Action groups are being formed and are petitioning the govt against these new laws. They are fighting for their right to get drunk basically. Although they would word it differently. Perhaps, fighting for their right to drink responsibility. This is a joke because if people were able to drink responsibly we wouldn't have so much violence late at night. There is obviously a problem with people's ability to drink responsibily.

It’s true that governments sometimes become overly legalistic and people should be allowed to make stupid decisions, but when did it get like this? Some say that due to RSA training the pubs and clubs are “controlled” environments. This is a delusional statement as people still drink too much regardless of how well trained the staff are. Plus the clubs are in it for the money, they charge a motza for drinks and make a lot of money the more people drink.

People will drink anyway is another interesting argument. It’s used in defiance of any laws introduced regarding alcohol, including the Alco pop tax. It shows people’s immaturity when they persist in harmful lifestyle choices regardless of the sanctions placed on them.

Topless Bathing

Proposed by Rev Fred Nile. He apparently represents all Christians but I’m not sure how many actually take him seriously. It was rather poor timing on his part when everyone is worried about a ‘global economic crisis,’ topless bathing issues are rather low on the agenda.

It is argued by topless bathers that “man boobs” are more offensive than a bare female chest. This may be the case but doesn’t make it right to go topless. There are specific nudist beaches all around Sydney, but that isn’t enough for some it appears. They want to be immoral around families with little kids at Sydney’s most populated beaches. Of course the examples given in the Daily Telegraph show two footloose and fancy-free British backpackers who are far away from their real life and far away from any repercussions of their actions.

Just another thought, with all the hype about breast cancer awareness it might be considered irresponsible of women to fight to go topless in Australia’s harsh sun.