Traditional (?) marriage

Today's New York Times has a clever little "pop quiz" on marriage, to demonstrate that "most of what 'everyone knows' about what matrimony used to be and just how it has changed is wrong." Of the 13 true or false questions and answers, some of which are genuinely surprising, there are two that should be of particular interest to those fighting same-sex marriage on the grounds of "protecting the foundation of society":

• The preferred form of marriage through the ages has been between one man and one woman. True or False?

FALSE. The form of marriage that has been approved by more societies than any other through the ages is polygamy - one man and many women. That family form is the one mentioned most often in the first five books of the Bible. In some societies, one woman could marry several men... For most of history, the main impetus for marriage was getting in-laws and managing property, not love or sex.

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• Throughout history, philosophers and theologians have always believed that strong marital commitments form the foundation of a virtuous society. True or False?

FALSE. Ancient Roman philosophers and medieval theologians thought that loving your spouse too much was a form of "adultery," a betrayal of one's obligations to country or God. The ancient Greeks held that the purest form of love was between two men... Early Christians thought marriage was inescapably tainted by the presence of sex. According to the medieval church, virgins ranked highest in godliness, widows were second, and wives a distant third.

As I've said repeatedly, definitions of wedlock, family, and child rearing have evolved in the same way that societies have evolved with the advance of civilization. Isn't it time for this nation to reject once and for all the myth that there is such a thing as "traditional" marriage, and allow committed, monogamous, same-sex couples to share the joys, recognition, complications, and benefits of this constantly changing institution?