Dominant Paradigm: Maybe polyamory is okay for "single" people, but marriage requires sacrifice and commitment.
Poly Party Line: Marriage means whatever we want it to mean, and we say commitment and monogamy are not synonyms.
Okay, this particular argument basically boils down to semantics. Go ahead and debate yourselves silly: Marriage means this; Marriage means that; If it's not what I mean by marriage, it doesn't count, blah blah blah.
I'm a word-whore, it's true. I've also been known to get off on definitional hair-splitting -- just ask Scott: every time I see him, we end up in some tiff that has one or the other of us running for the Oxford Unabridged -- but I'm sorry, I just don't have it in me tonight.
So let's leave it at this: Marriage does require sacrifice and commitment. It does not require monogamy. I know. I've been married for almost eighteen years. If you want a slightly more in-depth but equally snarky treatment of this topic, see my October 2010 post entitled, "Poly FAQ #2: What Makes You Think You Can Have Your Cake and Eat It Too?"
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