No Girl Left Behind

[Sage Ninja]

http://nogirlleftbehind.99k.org/index.html

the answer to every girls spinster status. Seriously. This all seems a bit dated.

The Nature of the Crisis
At the beginning of this century, Christian parents had a dream. A dream that their sons and daughters would one day would stand and join hands with other parents' sons and daughters at the altar of matrimony. This dream was deeply rooted in the American dream. It was born from the Founders' desire to insure domestic tranquility, to promote the general welfare, and to create more perfect unions.


But this dream has still not come true. The hour has come, in which we must face the inconvenient truth of what is becoming known as "The Marriage Crisis." The crisis is this: There are young people of both genders who wish to be married and are not. (Why this is a crisis needs not be explained.)
Statistics prove the proportions of the crisis to involve "a surplus" and "a very large number" of people out-of-wedlock. Such numbers cannot be ignored, by many. And yet some refuse to see that there is a crisis at all. To those in doubt, consider these signs indicating an epidemic of singleness spreading out of control:

Many young women are sitting at home with brimming hopechests, waiting for young men who never come.
Many young men over age 20 are still not married, indicating that most young men are not interested in pursuing marriage.
Some girls are being asked for multiple times, while some are not being asked for at all.
Many young men seem to choose wives according to a different standard than many (overlooked) young ladies would like.
Some people are treated as more eligible than others, causing a sense of rejection and potential emotional injury.
It often seems that more young men are getting married than young women.
In short, the current courtship system is driven by a general unfairness, resulting in marriage only for a privileged few. But all of our children want to be married! Our daughters' hopechests are full, and our sons are making money. They are all very eligible -- yet they are becoming more single by the year. When in history have we ever seen people having such a hard time getting married? The natural little complications and risks associated with the marital process have escalated to the point of a national crisis. This crisis requires immediate and drastic action. Now is the time to act!

Every Girl's Right
All of our daughters are special. They have grown up knowing that they are precious flowers, worthy of knights in the shiniest armor, and expecting suitors and eventually marriage in God's perfect timing (or by the age of twenty, whichever came first). But something has gone terribly wrong! Our daughters are losing their dream, as they see some flowers get picked... and they themselves are being overlooked and left behind. Too many young men are seeing the value only in some girls, instead of the intrinsic value in every girl. Yes, some young women may lack the maturity, or personality, or attractiveness, or skills, of others, but they are all special and all deserve equal attention.


Most importantly: because marriage is the norm, all young women are naturally entitled to marriage. The denial of this right is an injustice; a wrong that must be righted. No girl should suffer the prospect of spinsterhood, simply because her qualities run too deep for anyone to see. No girl should have to fear that the problem is with her; she needs affirmation that the problem is with the leaders, the current courtship system, and the young men. No girl should be left behind, simply because others refused to take action.

It IS Time for Action
Bad things happen when good people do nothing. Fortunately for the futures of our children, there are things that can be done to stimulate the marriage economy! All we need is for everyone to come together and agree on a course of action. A few unobtrusive measures would need to be taken, to accelerate matters and provide incentives for greater activity, and to insure fair treatment and equal opportunities for everyone. We are sure that thinking people everywhere will agree that a some changes to our current, ineffective/failing, approach would be for the greater good.

[ooglafina]

Well, I qualify as a spinster most likely. They don't seem to calculate into their equation that most "spinsters" are that way by choice. I've been working in free legal clinic that deals mostly with divorce and family issues. And trust me, the things you hear will definitely make you think twice about marrying. At least without being really, really, really sure.

I don't get point 4 where they say that young men don't pick girls based on criteria that most girls would want. Well, boo hoo. It's up to them isn't it?

I'm from a Christian home school community and I can say with great certainty that we aren't all sitting around wringing our hands because nobody will marry us. We're off getting educations and jobs and if we're not married it's because we don't want to be.

[gobo]

Ooh, yay! More people thinking that America belongs to christianity.

[Candy Kappa]

life is not all about marrige, why not live a little. No one will find you inside your home, go out and party or join clubs. Find the man/woman yourself, bang her\his head and grag it home.

don't wait, live!

[discordiatookie]

Originally Posted by Kiwamu The Kappa

Find the man/woman yourself, bang her\his head and grag it home.

Pretty sure that's illegal, bud.

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by discordiatookie

Pretty sure that's illegal, bud.

caveman reference

[ToTheNines]

I don't get it... what do they want people to do about it?

[shuriken]

THE TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW! yeah I'm totally gonna go get myself some ice cream...
yeah this is just dumb. There is no need to force marriage upon people that do not WANT to get married. It is a right to get married as much as it is a right to not get married. I would rather live with my couple happily then marry someone and divorce them a year later you know? But seriously though, some people need to stop worrying about others and take care of themselves.

[Koi]

Most likely me, but what is wrong with being single? I swear the girls that hope for marriage are most likely very dependent, and need some self confidence.

That just makes me a little sad inside that people consider being single a problem.

[Leonardo Mystic]

I want to get married someday, but I'm not going to get married to just anyone. Until I find the one I'm looking for, I'll be remaining single. While I'm not exactly thrilled about it, it's a compromise that will make it worth the wait in the end.

[The Stryker]

[Venom]

Originally Posted by Kiwamu The Kappa

life is not all about marrige, why not live a little. No one will find you inside your home, go out and party or join clubs. Find the man/woman yourself, bang her\him hard and wake up groggy at home.

don't wait, live!

That's how I read initially read it.

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by Venom

That's how I read initially read it.

I like it

[BubblyShell22]

This is so stupid. Not everybody has to get married. Yes, it is a woman's right to get married, but maybe some people don't want it. Heck, I'm twenty-seven, and I'm not married yet. I'm just not ready, but I want to get married eventually. Right now, I'm happy being with my BF and spending time with him when I can. Even if I hadn't met him, it wouldn't be a big deal. I'd be happy either way.

[plastroncafe]

I love the URL alone: noGIRLleftbehind.
Not Woman, or Female. Girl.

That alone lets you know what the webmaster there thinks about women.

[Katie]

Originally Posted by Leonardo Mystic

I want to get married someday, but I'm not going to get married to just anyone. Until I find the one I'm looking for, I'll be remaining single. While I'm not exactly thrilled about it, it's a compromise that will make it worth the wait in the end.

There's no such thing as the perfect man or woman (and I'm pretty sure Leonardo isn't springing to real life anytime soon....) anyone who thinks that if they are wait, some fairytale knight will show up needs to grow up.

What you can do is find someone great and realize that you don't need perfection to be happy. That's maturity for you.


also, I'm scared that the article implies that men over the age of 20 not being married is somehow a problem. Jesus.....really? some women are being asked multiple times and some aren't being asked? WTF? I'm terrified that there are people who actually follow this crap.



Edit: I read again. they should call this "The parents of Ugly Daughters support Group" 'cause that seems like what it's about. I believe they are pushing for arranged marriages


Edit again: the "solution" from their own website:

Originally Posted by the crazy people

We present our proposed solution to the Marriage Crisis: the No Girl Left Behind initiative. No Girl Left Behind is designed to prevent oversights, injustice and discrimination, and to promote a stronger and more humane marriage economy. No more people out-of-marriage!

Rules must be Implemented

In matters of love, as in so many other arenas, the Free Market has failed. The unfairness of a capitalistic system, as applied to courtship, has hurt our children. It is a shame to this progressive nation -- the land of equality and opportunity for the little guy-- that in the year 2010, people are still being unfair. The time has come to build a brave new social world for our children. The time has come to to fight for the future of our posterity, and to fight for a posterity to give a future to. America's youth aren't getting any younger. It is time to give our children Prospects They Can Believe In.

To this point, different families in the courtship scene have been holding to different rules and standards than other families, creating a disorderly free-for-all. The wild west of our free market-based marriage system has bred too many options, too much chaos, and too much possibility for some people to fall through the cracks. No wonder we have such a mess on our hands! Young men are clearly not responsible enough, fathers not permissive enough, mothers not persuasive enough, and daughters not visible enough, on their own. No Girl Left Behind will emphasize the following points:

1. More Motivation for Courting

In order to see our young people striving as desperately for marriage as we would like, we need to ensure that they feel the pressure of the widespread marriage crisis as acutely as we do. On the flip side, we must also continually be impressing on them the personal duty they have to marry as soon as possible. Even after this current crisis is past, there is no reason to de-emphasize any of these points.

2. More Fairness in Choosing

Since many girls and young men have unfair advantages on the field, we must narrow these discrepancies somehow. To try to homogenize the personal character and upbringing of our young people goes against our recent homeschooling traditions, and is therefore far too difficult to attempt at the moment. However, we can and must get everyone onto the same page regarding our courtship formula. These rules must be universally held to for fairness to be achieved. Only then will our daughters be truly equal in the eyes of all young men, and all have a fair shot at being quickly chosen.

3. A Higher Authority to force Marriages

Of course, there are limits to the amount of motivation and fairness that young people will voluntarily adopt. Too many families have been raising too many children with too many different ideals and goals. At the end of the day, some individuals will need external pressure far greater than mere motivation.

If the parents will not enforce our goals, we must turn to our pastors, and if our pastors are not willing to take drastic measures, we will have to find even higher authorities that will. These are deperate times, and while this is the most contraversial aspect of No Girl Left behind, we are confident that eventually parents will come to realize that these wonderful ends do justify the slightly uncomfortable means.

They are proposing a Bill to congress; registration for everyone over 18 who isn't married; fines for guys over 18 who aren't married; quotas for marriages in states; harrassment of pastors, congress, and other elected officials; and gossiping openly about "what's wrong with So-and-so, why isn't he/she married". they are also advocating the creation of a "Department of Complaints" where you could vent about why your precious little suzie isn't getting enough attention from the boys......... LOL


Quotas:

Originally Posted by The crazy people

To prevent any girl being left behind, no girl shall be asked for multiple times until each girl in her district has been asked for once. Every young lady asked shall be given 10 business days to respond (if she files late, it shall be assumed that she has accepted). If it is deemed that too many applications have been rejected, the young lady must wear a scarlet "P" to indicate to future suiters that she is picky.

To prevent some young people from attracting more attention than others, there shall be, A) Handicaps imposed on the unfairly advantaged, and B) Subsidies granted for the unfairly disadvantaged. (e.g. The inequitably attractive girls would be prohibited from wearing makeup; financially disadvantaged young men would be granted fiscal/fiduciary federal subsidies; etc.)

To prevent some families from spending more on their courtship campaigns (viz, travel opportunities, online exposure, social engagements, or wardrobe) than others can afford to, federally mandated courtship spending limits would be imposed on all campaigns. (These standardized requirements would be outlined on Form J2748B, copies to be submitted to the Marriage Bureau, all subject to random annual audits)

To prevent young men or ladies from forming unfairly high expectations for marriage applicants, the marital standards of parents, sons and daughters should be regulated, and an approved, standardized set of fairness guidelines shall be imposed. This would ensure a general leveling, prevent judgmental attitudes, and guarantee acceptance for everyone, down to the lowest common denominator.

[gobo]

Thanks for sorting out the highlights for us, Katie. I was done with it after the first paragraph. Now, I can see just how laughable this garbage is. Are we sure this isn't a publicity stunt by The Onion?

[ooglafina]

Legal implementation of courtship sounds like a waking nightmare to me. I had to sit through whole seminars about it in high school.

[plastroncafe]

I'm kind of curious when moderate Christians are going to publicly denounce the actions of their more lunatic fringe.

[Machias Banshee]

Wow... splinter groups like this kill me. A 'typical' christian (if you could call us that), aren't so... what's the word... eccentric, I guess. I wouldn't touch legal enforcement of marriage with a forty foot pole. Some people marry later on in life. Not everyone marries their high school sweetheart....