David Blankenhorn's The Future of Marriage: Review
To begin, I must admit that I approached David Blankenhorn's book The Future of Marriage with some trepidation, as I know that he is against extending marriage to same-sex couples. After reading the book, however, I have to give him credit for approaching the issue with more respect than most who believe in preserving “family values.” He doesn't fall into the easy and usual trap of moralizing about homosexuality being "wrong," "perverted," or "unnatural." In fact, he goes as far as saying "homosexual behavior is an important and normal (expected) occurrence in human societies" (Blankenhorn 115) and "[w]e as a society can and should accept the dignity of homosexual love and the equal worth of gay and lesbian persons" (179). Such acknowledgments do a lot to encourage dialogue out of mutual respect; something that many on his side would do better to remember.
David Blankenhorn is a world authority on the institution of marriage. One of the biggest debates concerning marriage today is whether we should expand the concept to include same-sex marriage. Blankenhorn thinks not, and in his book titled, The Future of Marriage, sets out to make the case against homosexual marriage. But he does so, pre-eminently, by making the case for the institution of heterosexual marriage. Blankenhorn first seeks to get a handle on what marriage is, and then he shows how it has been experienced over the centuries. The first half of the book is about what marriage is, and how it has developed. The second half deals with the challenge of same-sex marriage. Although homosexual couples should have the right to love one another without experiencing prejudice, their unions should not be labeled as a “marriage”, for this would cause our society to rethink the values of marriage and how it pertains to children.
Blankenhorn recognizes that a definition of marriage is a slippery affair, but after a close examination of the issue and how others have thought about it, he comes up with this helpful
David Blankenhorn is a world authority on the institution of marriage. One of the biggest debates concerning marriage today is whether we should expand the concept to include same-sex marriage. Blankenhorn thinks not, and in his book titled, The Future of Marriage, sets out to make the case against homosexual marriage. But he does so, pre-eminently, by making the case for the institution of heterosexual marriage. Blankenhorn first seeks to get a handle on what marriage is, and then he shows how it has been experienced over the centuries. The first half of the book is about what marriage is, and how it has developed. The second half deals with the challenge of same-sex marriage. Although homosexual couples should have the right to love one another without experiencing prejudice, their unions should not be labeled as a “marriage”, for this would cause our society to rethink the values of marriage and how it pertains to children.
Blankenhorn recognizes that a definition of marriage is a slippery affair, but after a close examination of the issue and how others have thought about it, he comes up with this helpful