![]() ![]() Coercion is predicated upon the fear of violence or suffering. Carrots and sticks, though in bad light one looks much like the other. “Power is the ability to make someone do what they otherwise wouldn’t, or deter them from doing what they otherwise would.” “You want me to discuss power? Right here and now?” Even within a single day, a marriage can be stormy in the morning, yet by evening turn calm and blue …” ![]() Any given marriage can-and will-go through rocky patches and calmer periods. Marriages can be dynastic, common-law, secret, shotgun, arranged, or, as is the case with Sharon and Peter”-she beams at the bride in her dress and the groom in his morning suit-“brought into being by love and respect. Marriage differs between cultures, tribes, centuries, decades even, generations, and-our alien researcher might add-planets. ![]() “Maybe marriage is difficult to define because of its array of shapes and sizes. Is it an endeavor, a pledge, a symbol, or an affirmation? Is it a span of shared years and shared experiences? A vessel for intimacy? Or does the old joke nail it best? ‘If love is an enchanted dream, then marriage is an alarm clock.’ ” Mostly male laughter in the congregation is shushed. ![]() “What is marriage, exactly, and how could we explain it to an alien anthropologist? It’s more than just a living arrangement. ![]()
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