The media coverage of the wedding of Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky has been refreshing. In the midst of depressing economic, environmental, and war stories which have smothered the news for the past months, it was fun to follow this amazing young woman and her new husband through a fairy tale romance and wedding . Some have referred to the coverage of the nuptials as being a royal event. Maybe that’s the case, but I think there are several better reasons which make more sense.
- Chelsea Clinton has been a great role model. This hasn’t been the case in every “first child” situation, but her story has been almost ideal. She is a smart, intelligent, and wise young woman in a setting where those characteristics easily could have been replaced by other adjectives. Some have said that she was “our child,” in the sense of belonging to the nation from childhood into young adulthood. I don’t think so. In fact, I think it has been just the opposite. I think Chelsea has done a great job of being herself and of being the child of a very exposed marriage. Her demand for privacy in her life, even to the point of going to college in California…far away from the Beltline…was effective and not “in your face.” She was there when appropriate, but not by public demand.
- This interfaith marriage is a wonderful statement of where we are at this moment in history. I remember when a “first child” was married to a Roman Catholic young man and the press and the nation went beserk. There was something “story book” about Chelsea and Marc’s venture into a Jewish/Christian wedding and marriage. It doesn’t sound like a struggle; to the contrary, it sounds very positive and exciting. Those who worry about the direction their children (kind of early to be counting them) will go have missed the point. It isn’t a matter of conflict; it will be a natural and un-stressed situation…just like their romance and nuptials.
- It is refreshing to have the experience of relative normality in their nuptial. While you pick up your teeth from my having said that, I would ask you to ignore the dollar bills and the celebrity character and focus on the basic story. First of all…they did get married. This is not a story of a celebrity couple choosing to reject the institution of marriage or to trash it in their personal stories. Rather, they embraced it, found the best parts of the institution to celebrate, and did it with gusto.
- The American public is tired of the Larry King/Bristol Palin/Hollywood version of pseudo-marriage which is temporary, self-centered, and immature. These nuptials included language about being life partners and practicing self-sacrifice. There is every reason to believe that this couple looks forward to “growing old together,” one of the best language moments of contemporary weddings.
- This is a great moment to remind us about what marriage is all about. In the public discourse over non-traditional marriages, including same-gender marriages, there has been too much focus on the sexual issue and not enough on the other issues which are so much more important. Is there anyone out there who doubts that this couple love each other? Has anyone missed the obvious respect each of them has for each other? Do you really doubt that they will care for each other “in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, etc. ?” Whenever a married couple attend a wedding it is an opportunity to renew their own nuptial vows. In this case, I believe there was a vicarious opportunity for married couples throughout the nation to do so. And I suspect a good number of them took advantage of this moment.
- And finally, the people of Rhinebeck, NY, played a huge part in this event. Rather than staging political protests, engaging in inflammatory newspaper editorials, or insisting on assumed rights and privileges, the people of Rhinebeck celebrated the honor of hosting a national moment. And they did it with class. I hope all those negative voices in recent political gatherings were watching them. They could learn something.
I sensed a genuine expression in the number of television and other media commentators who ended their pieces with the words, “Congratulations, Marc and Chelsea. Best wishes.” To them I add my own. L’Chaim.
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