Of all the claims which the pro-Prop 8 folks present, Dear Gentle Reader(s), is one made by Andrew Pugno a spokesperson for Protectmarriage.com. Speaking on Public Radio’s Air Talk on May 27, 2009, he said this, “Marriage predates government.”
Really? Any proof of that? Certainly not in any anthropological study can that statement be substantiated.
It went something like this (OK, my conjecture, but it certainly makes more sense than his): First came mating; Second came family—with someone making decisions (and that process could have been shared); Third came tribe—with someone making decisions for several families—one of which was controlling the mating processes); Fourth came some dissatisfaction with decisions which went against some common practices (Whadda mean, we can’t eat pork?); Fifth came superstition to use as a tool against the dissatisfaction (Because It told me to tell you not to do that); Sixth came the refinement of superstition into religion.
Perhaps a bit fanciful, but that’s the lineage according to the anthropological studies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Government, rudimentary, to be sure, existed prior to marriage because until government came into existence, what we call marriage today was coupling for the purpose of propagating the species. Cultural differences between tribes came later, but “government” arose out of need to protect the tribe.
For certain, “Marriage predates government,” stated with such certainty by Pugno, is at best a virtual fib.
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