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TV Guide
"Must see TV"
"Watch and read"
"May I suggest "Marriage: Just A Piece Of Paper?" Cokie Roberts does a helluva job taking
the mystery out of the marriage statistics."
"In the era of "Temptation Island" and "Sex and the City," the prime-time Valentine's
Day offering on PBS seems almost anachronistic: an earnest documentary examining the
status of marriage in the United States."
"Marriage-- Just a Piece of paper" isn't a leftist polemic designed
to make marriage seem unattractive, nor is it a right-wing propaganda campaign that
aims to prop up an ailing institution. It's a blunt, honest look at a social contract
that's obviously seen better days. "Marriage: Just a Piece of Paper?" is dramatic and some tears are likely to fall. It is not a show of fake controversy, but instead it includes thoughtful and empathic experts, and follows the trail of several participants in the chaos of marital and non-marital relations, and follows them enough that you get to know them and to care about them. It is not preachy, though it includes some prophetic elements. "For too long the talk about marriage has been stalemated, thanks to polarization. Those typed as 'left' have often left it unaddressed or have brought burdens of ideology to it that keep them from making a meaningful approach. Those typed as 'right' have often tried to force the theme of marriage into categories that are obsolete, unrealistic, and cramping. "Marriage: Just a Piece of Paper?" in a remarkable way intends to depolarize the controversy and is an exploration that invites in the previously uncommitted and invites the committed to rethink their approaches so they can hear "the other." In a season of insecurity, depression, and "downs," for all its realism, this is a signaler of hope." Martin E. Marty is the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus The University of Chicago and a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Marriage is the community which lies at the foundation of a family. We cannot have strong families without trying to build vital marriages. The program presents a wide ranging and balanced analysis of marriage in U.S. society today. It deals with a complex situation in an uncomplicated manner, but without being simplistic about either causes or solutions. This program makes a strong, believable argument for marriage being everyone's business: couples, families, communities, religion, education, and government. I hope many will pay attention to its message and resolve to play their part in strengthening marriages.
H. Richard McCord "Evangelicals ought to watch this program and take seriously its implicit message that marriage is not simply a piece of paper. If we fail to take appropriate steps to save and protect marriages, the future of the family and our society as a whole is in jeopardy."
Rev. Richard Cizik
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