1 Good Reason Not to Read 5 Good Reasons

… a new view of marriage emerged from the eighteenth and nineteenth century Enlightenment. Older cultures taught their members to find meaning in duty, by embracing their assigned social roles and carrying them out faithfully. During the Enlightenment, things began to shift. The meaning of life came to be seen as the fruit of the freedom of the individual to choose the life that most fulfills him or her personally. Instead of finding meaning through self-denial, through giving up one’s freedoms, and binding oneself to the duties of marriage and family, marriage was redefined as finding emotional and sexual fulfillment and self-actualization. (Keller, The Meaning of Marriage)

As if our culture needed further pretext for thumbing its collosal snoot at marriage, Elite Daily‘s Paul Hudson has written a piece entitled “5 Good Reasons to Wait Until You’re 30 to Get Married“.

The good reasons given are (predictably) nothing of the kind. Were there any honesty in the world of titling, it would have been called 5 Good Reasons Why Our Generation is Relationally Screwed, with a disclaimer about the dangers of reading sans tequila.

As with so many flaccid pomo write-ups on life, the universe, and everything, it’s difficult to justify a lengthy retort. Life is short, pearls rare, swine swinish. Hudson’s article – a triumph of crib-level narcissism if ever there was one – is so bad, so really, truly, and awfully bad, that the thought of picking it apart is tiring to consider. When the author begins by declaring that he’s “not entirely convinced there is a reason to ever get married”, you know it’s all downhill on greased rollerblades from there.

So how about that one reason not to read Paul Hudson’s five? Simple: each and every word reeks of selfishness. His advice is only conducive to the propagation of navel-gazing immaturity, and we have more than enough of that already.

Just think about it. We’re dealing with a culture that exalts the Self above all else, to nauseating extremes. This is why we give thumbs up to crushing an unborn child’s skull if you, as its mother, just don’t want it. This is why Mr. Paul Hudson can write about marriage like it’s a ball-and-chain to be avoided as long as possible, if not altogether. We’re smitten with ourselves, and God forbid the appearance of any rival suitor.