Marrying Absurd

Joan Didion’s essay entitled â€Å"Marrying Absurd† tells about how marriages in Las Vegas are conducted. She narrated that Las Vegas weddings can be celebrated anytime the couple wishes to have it.   All that one need is for the bride to be eighteen years old, the groom to be twenty one and a five dollar for the license. Joan Didion describes how the Las Vegas weddings have taken away the essence of what a marriage is. That marriage is a sacrament which should be taken seriously and solemnly. Holy Matrimony is a sacred rite.   It is a special event because it holds a special meaning to the bride and groom.   It conveys that one gives herself totally to one person for purposes of creating a family. It represents love and honor.   It regards husband and wife as symbols of the nuptial of Christ and his church.   It is a contractual bond for eternity. It is not simply saying I will love you for only one and a half year and be married to you only within that time.   Marriage is the communion of two families as well.   It is not simply you and me.   It includes extended families of your in-laws, their friends and relations. Hence, it is a major decision to take on, which should be thought over many times and not simply at the spur of the moment. Joan Didion’s description of Las Vegas as a place for immediate gratification is true. Everywhere temptations abound.   It takes a lot of self-discipline not to be lured into enticing distractions. My idea of marriage is traditional.   One, where marriage preparations will be painstakingly made, the service well thought of, the invites well chosen, and the entire entourage – will be those people that have in one way or another affected my life.   I do not choose to be part of a 3-minute Las Vegas wedding where the ceremony seems like a task to get done as easily as one can; where the solemnity of the marriage vows are disregarded.   Marriage in Las Vegas gives the impression that the marriage bond will break as swiftly as it was solemnized. Las Vegas, a city that never sleeps, has spoiled and dishonored the sacrament of Holy Matrimony.   I wonder how many broken families these five dollar ceremony have produced.   It is a pity that despite the great number of people wanting to get married, divorce equals the number.   A marriage not well thought  of, entered into hastily, for the wrong reasons, is doomed from the very start.   These Las Vegas weddings have stripped the people of the true essence of marriage and have taught them that marriage is not at all a respectable ceremony. These Las Vegas marriages are tasteless and cheap and should be denounced. Read also: â€Å"My Ideal Wife† BIBILIOGRAPHY JOAN DIDION.