The Definition of "IS" "IS"
My brother has decided to present what the definition of “is” “is”. Based on the blog I presented earlier titled: “Breaking News: Change Can Happen,” my brother gave his viewpoint on the issue. Flawed as his view may be, he is entitled to it, but I have an opportunity to correct his errors:
Jimmy said:
“He was elected, at least in part, on his position and he has let down his constituency.”
Rebuttal:
Mayor Jerry Sanders was elected by his constituency to make decisions on the “behalf” of said constituency. This is a representative democracy, and there are times when decisions are made that are in the interest of society as a whole and go against what said constituency wishes to have. Oftentimes, we have to look towards those that will “lead” and pull us out of archaic thinking that so often pervades our common views. Leaders like Abe Lincoln, which gave us the Emancipation Proclamation, would be a good example of this practice.
Jimmy said:
“My opinion is that marriage is what marriage is. It has a clear definition (see below)...”
“Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
mar•riage
Pronunciation [mar-ij]
–noun
1. the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc.
2. the state, condition, or relationship of being married; wedlock.
3. the legal or religious ceremony that formalizes the decision of a man and woman to live as husband and wife, including the accompanying social festivities.”
AND
"Basic meanings of words (especially foundational words) do not change over time...they just don't."
Rebuttal:
Interesting choice to use this “specific” online dictionary. Let us now see the ENTIRE picture…
mar•riage (măr'ĭj) n.
1.
a. The legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife.
b. The state of being married; wedlock.
c. A common-law marriage.
d. A union between two persons having the customary but usually not the legal force of marriage: a same-sex marriage.
2. A wedding.
3. A close union: “the most successful marriage of beauty and blood in mainstream comics” (Lloyd Rose).
4. Games. The combination of the king and queen of the same suit, as in pinochle.
[Middle English mariage, from Old French, from marier, to marry. See marry1.]
- http://www.answers.com/topic/marriage
mar•riage ˈmær ɪdʒ - Show Spelled Pronunciation[mar-ij] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc.
2. the state, condition, or relationship of being married; wedlock: a happy marriage.
3. the legal or religious ceremony that formalizes the decision of a man and woman to live as husband and wife, including the accompanying social festivities: to officiate at a marriage.
4. a relationship in which two people have pledged themselves to each other in the manner of a husband and wife, without legal sanction: trial marriage; homosexual marriage.
5. any close or intimate association or union: the marriage of words and music in a hit song.
6. a formal agreement between two companies or enterprises to combine operations, resources, etc., for mutual benefit; merger.
7. a blending or matching of different elements or components: The new lipstick is a beautiful marriage of fragrance and texture.
8. Cards. a meld of the king and queen of a suit, as in pinochle. Compare ROYAL MARRIAGE.
9. a piece of antique furniture assembled from components of two or more authentic pieces.
10. Obsolete. the formal declaration or contract by which act a man and a woman join in wedlock.
- http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/marriage
Main Entry: mar•riage
Pronunciation: 'mer-ij, 'ma-rij
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English mariage, from Anglo-French, from marier to marry
1 a (1) : the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2) : the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage
2 : an act of marrying or the rite by which the married status is effected; especially : the wedding ceremony and attendant festivities or formalities
3 : an intimate or close union
-Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary
Jimmy failed to present the whole picture – which isn’t unusual, most people do this in order to make their point of view more salient.
Words do change in definition, or come to have more meaningful definitions over time. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, we have what is called an ORDER OF SENSES. Here is the definition.
“The order of senses within an entry is historical: the sense known to have been first used in English is entered first. This is not to be taken to mean, however, that each sense of a multisense word developed from the immediately preceding sense. It is altogether possible that sense 1 of a word has given rise to sense 2 and sense 2 to sense 3, but frequently sense 2 and sense 3 may have arisen independently of one another from sense 1.
When a numbered sense is further subdivided into lettered subsenses, the inclusion of particular subsenses within a sense is based upon their semantic relationship to one another, but their order is likewise historical: subsense 1a is earlier than 1b, 1b is earlier than 1c, and so forth. Divisions of subsenses indicated by lightface numerals in parentheses are also in historical order with respect to one another. Subsenses may be out of historical order, however, with respect to the broader numbered senses”
Therefore, the definition of marriage DOES include "being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship” and can ABSOLUTELY be used in conjunction with the legal issues that may arise from said definition. Just because the U.S Congress arbitrarily decided to state that “marriage is between a man and a woman,” does not make it so.
Of note…
“ Marriage is an interpersonal relationship with governmental, social, or religious recognition, usually intimate and sexual, and often created as a contract, or through civil process.”
Peace.Love.Live.
JPB
1 comment:
Often, people talk in absolutes as if the world, or the people in it are easily definable. The problem is that the world is not absolute. The gray area is where we live, and when we attempt to live in the black and white we only punish ourselves for our imperfections and our inability to conform to what is "right" or what is "normal." Humanity is the gray area. It is why multiple definitions of the same word exist. It is an attempt to encompass all the diversity that it can, and the diversity that becomes apparent over time. You may chose not to adhere to all the meanings, but it doesn't make it exclusively one definition and not the others.
Post a Comment