How about having sex before marriage?

Locke:  Noone’s going to buy the cow if they get the milk for free.

GifMike:  Must you start every conversation with an offensive one liner?

Demosthenes:  Regardless of the horrific metaphor of equating a human being with purchased livestock, in spirit I agree with Locke.  Sex should be reserved for men and woman who have committed themselves to each other and are therefore prepared to deal with the emotional and financial consequences of the act.  Intercourse is for procreation, not a form of entertainment.

Locke:  Ok, you lost me there.  I think sex is the main way a man and a woman can maintain the specifc closeness and intimacy needed to form a long term bond.   Who cares if they want to have children or not.  It should be a fun and exciting shared experience, with the marriage itself made  just for disease control.

GifMike: Oh shit, you’re both offending me.

Demosthenes:  You don’t believe in marriage?

Locke:  It’s probably the man and woman reference.  He supports gay marraige blah blah.

GifMike:  I do.  I go into it further in the Homosexuality Section.  Marriage on one hand is the legal application to the government to tie one’s assets together for the ease and security of the family and for other tax purposes, and as such ANY two consenting American Citizens should have the right to do it.  Whether or not you want to call it a marriage for whatever views you have is irrelevant.   Just like Religion, different people have different definitions of the word so the government can only have a say in the technical application of it.  The subject, however, is sex before marriage and for womens sake  and the sake of the relationship as a whole I think it’s not only advisable it’s a MUST.

Demosthenes:   Are you setting up another joke?  To say that it’s to womens’ benefit to have sexual relations before marriage is way beyond the envelope, even for you.

Locke:  Sounds to me like maybe you just didn’t get enough before you took the plunge and you’re trying to help out the next generation of guys.

GifMike:  Maybe it’s just how I was raised.  Women have to be very careful in choosing a life long mate.  A long term relationship is hard and I firmly believe in putting the man through his paces beforehand to see if he can go the distance.   Does he care about your pleasure, can he keep a job, can he pay the bills, does he drink or gamble too much, is he good with kids (If you plan to build a family), Does he get bored to easily, will he stick around if things get hard (Such as with an illness or any major crisis), can he plan ahead?  I think courtships should go very slow and go through several stages before you tie the knot.  Date, make out, make love to see if you’re sexually compatable, then move in together to see if you can coordinate your finances and pay all your bills and fit each other into your daily routines.  Then, if you want children someday, spend some time with the children of your friends or relatives.  Test each others judgement and tempraments.  Then after all that if you still can’t picture your lives without each other … you’re there.  Be wary of other people attempting to make rules for YOUR life in an attemt to manipulate YOUR behavior and actions.  YOU have to live it so be careful in all things, test all waters, and dive in when YOUR ready.  I know life is short, but don’t be in too much of a hurry when your happiness is on the line.  The faster a house is built the quicker it crumbles, trust me.

to be continued…