Christian

Storrs
English 2850
April 21 2015
Reflection Paper

Some of the main reasons I had chosen the issue of Should all U.S citizens have
equal rights regardless of marital status? stemmed from some earlier discussions in
class relating to the institution of marriage and how it affects individuals and
society. I pondered on the sole idea of marriage, and how strange and outdated it
seemed to me. I wondered why someone had to be in a lawful marriage, in order to
reap the 1138 benefits it has to offer to a partnership, while all other people that are
in some type of cohabitating relationship arent eligible for such benefits. It struck
me as unfair, unequal, and discriminatory. I then took that question a step farther
and decided to pursue the presentation project based on this theme.

I browsed many sources searching for answers that would help my cause, and to my
surprise, it was a bit more difficult finding explicit information than I thought it was
going to be. The context for this theme seemed somewhat scarce on the internet, but
through mass amounts of time spent reading articles, statistics, stories etc.. I was
able to pull through and find most of the answers I was searching for.

Putting the PowerPoint together was an overwhelming task, and trying to find the
right ways to communicate through this medium was a struggle. Not to mention,

trying to fit all of this information into a ten-minute slot was and still is a challenge.
My hopes are that I will be able to discuss my issue in a way that is completely
comprehensible to the audience, while at the same time engaging enough to make
them wonder, and develop an opinion on the topic.

Looking back at the work I have done thus far, Ive noticed that my presentation is
more content based rather than aesthetically pleasing, and the PowerPoint design is
more functional and bland rather than colorful and exciting. But I believe that I have
met the requirements in the criteria to the best of my abilities. I have included in the
end of the PowerPoint a questions/comments page, and added a short video relating
to my topic, which I hope engages the class in discussion of their own ideas and
opinions on the issue.

Overall, I believe that I have successfully completed what has been asked of me. I
have dug deeper into understanding what marriage is, and has been in history, and
how it has developed and evolved, and continues to overtime. After researching this
project, my opinion on marriage is the same as it was in the beginning, just more
concrete now. I believe that the institution is unfair, unequal, and discriminatory
towards a multitude of single people, and those in a cohabitating relationship of
some kind. Although, with the progression of same-sex marriage entering the
picture, the future looks a little more bright in regard to the next step in social and
human evolution.


Bibliography

"Article 2 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Video."

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"BeyondMarriage.org." BeyondMarriage.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.

<http://www.beyondmarriage.org/>.

Bureau, Census. Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008-2009 The National
Data Book

"Feature Marriage." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.

<http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/marriage/>.

"Federal Marriage Discrimination." - Respect for Marriage. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr.
2015. <http://www.respectformarriage.org/pages/30839/>.

"Is Marriage an Outdated Institution?" Is Marriage an Outdated Institution? N.p., n.d.

Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.debate.org/opinions/is-marriage-an-outdated-
institution>

Leong, Nancy. "The Other Marriage Discrimination." The Huffington Post.

TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-leong/the-other-marriage-
discri_b_5702032.html>.

"No. 70: Live Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Divorces: 1950-2009." Cambridge: Bureau

of Census, 2009. Print.

"SecondEssay26011." SecondEssay26011. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.

<http://www1.umassd.edu/corridors/secondessay26011.html>.