A friend of mine sent this article to me the other day:
http://bit.ly/70BwFQ
The first sentence reads: “Married couples in France could end up with criminal records for insulting each other during arguments.”
You know the face you make when McD’s tells you they ran out of fries? That ‘you-gotta-be-kidding-me-with-this-crap’ face? Yea, that’s me right now…
People have got to stop implementing laws based on their moral standards, rather than using their brain. A heart person would say that this law would protect married people from emotional abuse that can be sustained during marriage. A brain person would say that people deserve the autonomy to work out their own issues.
My opinion: the state is not responsible for 'fixing' every unpleasant situation a person may find themselves in. Life sucks sometimes, and that's unfortunate. But, the more we sacrifice to the state because of our fears, the more harmful it is to us.
How do we know Jack and Jill married couple don’t typically holler out their aggression, littered with insults, and then get to the make-up sex that leads to happily ever after, until the next rift (that was a crucially long run-on sentence, I know)? Or maybe their constant bickering leads them to discover that they can’t stand to be around each other, and they decide to call it quits! Even if Jack is insulting the living daylights out of innocent Jill, and she’s been suffering for years from his emotional attacks, we should NOT be meddling!
I know someone is thinking that I'm void of a moral compass. That couldn't be further from the truth. Do I believe that emotional abuse is real, hurtful, and has long-term effects on it's victims? Do I cringe to think that some people have to endure this in their marriages? Of course! However, I think my frustration needs to be channeled towards some option other than the addition of more and more laws.
Instead of enacting a law that may help a few, but will otherwise snatch individual rights from the many, here's an alternative. Let's consider allowing the individual, and the community, to address some of our societal problems. Rather than slapping Jack with a criminal record (which could screw up his life..), maybe one of Jill's neighbors could reach out to her, providing a listening ear. Or, the local church might sponsor a seminar on abuse or healthy marriages, providing Jack and Jill with the helpful resources they need.
It may be, that we like to allow the state the leeway to make all kinds of laws, because we're too lazy and indifferent to do something about it ourselves.. maybe.
--TamSam
