Does marriage still have meaning? Or is it just another convenience…

Being as I am getting married in the very near future, I like to think that there is still something special about a marriage.  After reading the following postings by several men

(http://www.nomarriage.com/why_foreign_women_are_better.html) and the response one woman posted

(http://www.nomarriage.com/comments.shtml), I had to both laugh and yet also be equally disturbed.  It really got me thinking about marriage and our society in general.  It seems as though our society has become so incredibly focused on convenience that the whole “convenience” factor is now also carrying over to our relationships.  I’m sure the whole “marriage of convenience” concept has been around for a long time.  After all, there are times (especially years ago) when a man/woman loses their spouse and has a need to marry someone to help assist in bringing up the children, paying the household bills, and also to simply provide them companionship so that they are not lonely.  I cannot fault someone for that need.  However, in a world where the number of things we can hold sacred seems to be decreasing dramatically, I would like to hope that there are still marriages that are based on more than simply convenience.  The more I listen to people talk, the more I am made aware of how many people remain in their current relationship because it is more convenient to stay than it is to leave.  They seem to be content with settling on something that is conveniently acceptable rather than continuing to search for something that makes them truly happy.  It’s easy to fall into a routine and to be comfortable in a situation regardless of whether or not we are as happy as we would ultimately like to be.  It’s not so easy to leave that comfortably convenient situation and go searching for true happiness.  Yet isn’t that what most of us want – to be truly happy?  Have we as a society really reached a point where we are giving up on happiness and settling for contentment?  If so, I find it incredibly sad.  I still believe that marriage can be a true and meaningful union.  I believe that you can find someone who truly makes you happy.  I believe that you can find someone who you want to be with and cannot see yourself being without.  I believe that you can find someone who respects you and whom you can respect in turn.  I believe that you can find someone who will remain faithful to you and who wants to be by your side regardless of whether the times are good or bad.  If I did not believe these things, I could not get married again.  I refuse to settle for being content and will only settle for being happy.  I just wish I didn’t feel like such a minority…