Seventh Entry: Much ado about marriage and depression's bitter bite

Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare, 1598(?), Act 1, Scene 3

Conrade:
What the good-year, my lord! Why are thus out
of measure sad?
Don John:
There is no measure in the occasion that breeds
there the sadness is without limit.
Conrade:
You should hear reason.
Don John:
And when I have heard it, what blessing brings it?
Conrade:
If not a present remedy, at least a patient
sufferance.
Don John:
I wonder that thou, being, as though sayest thou art,
born under Saturn, goest about to apply a moral
medicine to a mortifying mischief.  I cannot hide
what I am: I must be sad when I have cause and smile
at no man's jests, eat when I have stomach and wait
for no man's leisure, sleep when I am drowsy and
tend on no man's business, laugh when I am merry and
claw no man in his humour.
Conrade:
Yea, but you must not make the full show of this
till you may do it without controlment.  You have of ...


"...moral medicine to a mortifying mischief."

In the past few months there has been a renewed focus on legalising marriage between members of the same sex.  I have spoken briefly about this in a previous blog post.  Opponents of gay marriage often level the same arguments:

• Marriage is between a man and a woman
• Our society is based on a Judeo-Chrisitan ethic and the Bible doesn't endorse marriage between two members of the same sex.

The first point is fatuous.  Based on that sort of logic, the franchise should not have been extended to women - 'Voting is performed by a (land owning) man.'  Nor should the White Australia policy have been abolished - 'Australia is a white country.'  The laws pertaining to the dissolution of marriage should not have been amended - 'Marriage is a lifelong commitment.'  How about the abolition of slavery? - 'Those with dark skin are subhuman.'  OK, extreme example.  The point is that yes, that is what the law says, but laws in a liberal democracy are able to be changed to reflect that society and more importantly, its progress.  The above examples were laws (OK I don't think a law actually stated that a dark-skinned person was subhuman, but the implication was certainly there) that were changed because they were anachronistic and discriminatory, and because their change would ultimately better the community.  I can hear the argument now; "gay marriage will not benefit the community at all."  It will provide happiness and equality to a small section and will not have any affect on our society at all.   If my gay neighbours get married tomorrow, my life will remain unaffected.  So will Bob Katter's.  Marriage isn't for straight people, it's for people who love each other enough to want to spend the rest of their lives together.  It is predicated on an emotional (or sometimes financial, but that's another point entirely) connection, not one between genitals.

Our society and its laws are not based on a Judaeo-Christian ehic.  Our society was based on the culmination of centuries of philosophical thought, political evolution and the advance of democratic theory, as pioneered in the United States.  The founding fathers of the U.S. didn't want religion anywhere near government, nor did ours, that is why we don't have a state recognized religion.

So the Bible refers to homosexuality as an 'abomination.'  There are parts of it that advocate slavery.  Jed Bartlett explains:

"...there the sadness is without limit."

People harbour many misconceptions about depression. By some it is seen as a choice between being happy and being not, that the individual simply lacks the will to better their attitude.  "Get over it" is not the easy task that the speaker ignorantly deems it.  It is not a whimsical self indulgence, nor is it easily surmountable;  it is a condition that affects not only the individual, but their friends and loved ones.  I have referenced Stephen Fry in a previous post, and I will do so again.  He suffers from depression and has repeatedly spoken at length about it.  As a showman and a person of remarkable intellect, his articulation of depression is most poignant, especially when he is relating his current descent.

For more information, Beyond Blue, an independent, not for profit, Australian government initiative
offers an ideal start.