Weekly Column: The death of Romance
By Omordia, Efe Alexandra – Nothing beats watching a bride and a bride-groom exchange vows on their wedding day. Quite a number of people get misty-eyed as they watch the couple look lovingly into each other’ eyes while they say the words but things are gradually changing. Very soon one would only get to see such kinds of scenes in movies. This will come about not as a result of the death of the institution of marriage but as a result of the dire economic situation as well as cultural expectations that makes couples grit their teeth and get into the wedding procession like lambs being led to slaughter or in exceptional cases like combatants about to go for a war.
Marriages are getting more and more expensive by the day. The expectations of relatives as well as so called well-wishes are making the romantic institution appear like a funeral. The couples in question often have to use their life savings (and more) to conduct weddings that would most likely make Late Princess Diana roll in her grave in envy. There are no average weddings here. Everything has to be done in grand style and little consideration is given to the Bride and Bride-Groom. People hardly consider how couples fare after the last guest has gone home. A young banker was recently arrested for engaging in fraud. When he was interviewed, he said he committed the crime because of the huge cost of his impending wedding.
The prevailing attitudes of individuals within a society are often as a result of societal expectations. Let us reconsider our materialistic tendencies.
