---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In an essay 10 years ago, I pointed out…"
description: "\"In an essay 10 years ago, I pointed out that it is utterly logical for polygamy rights to follow gay rights. After all, if traditional marriage is defi..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/charles-krauthammer-1232_arbitrary_in-an-essay-10-years-ago-i-pointed-out-t_1584792.png"
---

#  In an essay 10 years ago, I pointed out that it is utterly…

![“In an essay 10 years ago, I pointed out that it is utterly logical for polygamy rights to follow gay rights. After all, if traditional marriage is defined as the union of (1) two people of (2) opposite gender, and if, as advocates of gay marriage insist, the gender requirement is nothing but…” quote by Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/charles-krauthammer-1232_arbitrary_in-an-essay-10-years-ago-i-pointed-out-t_1584792.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/charles-krauthammer-1232_arbitrary_in-an-essay-10-years-ago-i-pointed-out-t_1584792.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/charles-krauthammer-1232_arbitrary_in-an-essay-10-years-ago-i-pointed-out-t_1584792.png)

> “In an essay 10 years ago, I pointed out that it is utterly logical for polygamy rights to follow gay rights. After all, if traditional marriage is defined as the union of (1) two people of (2) opposite gender, and if, as advocates of gay marriage insist, the gender requirement is nothing but prejudice, exclusion and an arbitrary denial of one's autonomous choices in love, then the first requirement - the number restriction (two and only two) - is a similarly arbitrary, discriminatory and indefensible denial of individual choice.”

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Argues that if gender restrictions in marriage are seen as prejudice, then limiting marriage to two people is similarly arbitrary.

**In simple terms:** Equality in marriage should include both gender and number.

Key Takeaway

Advocate for inclusive marriage definitions.

Themes

civil rights equality marriage law

Mood

analytical critical

Type

political philosophical

When to use this quote

- legal reform
- public policy debates
- activist campaigns

Key Concepts

prejudice autonomy discrimination

Questions to Reflect On

- How can societies shift deeply rooted marriage norms?
- What legal strategies support broader marriage rights?

A Different Perspective

Cultural resistance may impede change.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Autonomous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomous/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Denial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial/) [Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay/) [Gay marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay-marriage/) [Gay rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay-rights/) [Gender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individual choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual-choice/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Polygamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polygamy/) [Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Traditional marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traditional-marriage/) [Unions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unions/)

## Related quotes

> [A state should protect citizens in general and women in particular. And in the 21st Century, every society needs to respect the individual choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-fernandez/a-state-should-protect-citizens-in-general-and-women-in-particular/)

[Alberto Fernandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-fernandez/)

> [Thus, and not otherwise, the world was made. Either something or nothing must depend on individual choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/thus-and-not-otherwise-the-world-was-made-either-something-or-nothing/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [Freedom of religion, as the Founding Fathers saw it, was not just the right to associate oneself with a certain denomination but the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/freedom-of-religion-as-the-founding-fathers-saw-it-was-not-just-the/)

[Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/)

> [In or out of marriage, abortion is not an individual choice. At a minimum, three lives are involved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyd-k-packer/in-or-out-of-marriage-abortion-is-not-an-individual-choice-at-a/)

[Boyd K. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyd-k-packer/)

> [Once you accept the fact that people have 'individual choices' and they're 'free' to make those choices. Free to make choices means without being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/once-you-accept-the-fact-that-people-have-individual-choices-and-they/)

[Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/)

> [“When there’s no social pressure behind it, respectful behavior becomes a decision, an individual choice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/when-there-s-no-social-pressure-behind-it-respectful-behavior-becomes/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [It's an individual's choice to do whatever they please to their own bodies. However I have a massive problem with the notion that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-solomon/it-s-an-individual-s-choice-to-do-whatever-they-please-to-their-own/)

[Stacey Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-solomon/)

> [... patriarchy creates megapatterns that affect us all--even as we forge different individual choices within them--just as do themegapatterns of nationalism or racism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/patriarchy-creates-megapatterns-that-affect-us-all-even-as-we-forge/)

[Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/)

> [The usual marriage in traditional cultures was arranged for by the families. It wasn't a person-to-person decision at all. . . . In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-usual-marriage-in-traditional-cultures-was-arranged-for-by-the/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [Happiness is actually an individual choice, even in the midst of negative circumstances. It's not something our employers can give to us, though they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-achor/happiness-is-actually-an-individual-choice-even-in-the-midst-of/)

[Shawn Achor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-achor/)

> [“Based upon the tournament results and the formal propositions, four simple suggestions are offered for individual choice: do not be envious of the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-axelrod/based-upon-the-tournament-results-and-the-formal-propositions-four/)

Robert Axelrod

> [From about age 17 to 25, a time some people describe as "beautiful youth," it was "arranged" for me to live with two different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wang-jianwei/from-about-age-17-to-25-a-time-some-people-describe-as-beautiful/)

[Wang Jianwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wang-jianwei/)

> [Law has at least two roles: one is to define and regulate the limits of acceptable behavior. The other is to teach principles for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/law-has-at-least-two-roles-one-is-to-define-and-regulate-the-limits/)

[Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/)

> [Any group or "collective," large or small, is only a number of individuals. A group can have no rights other than the rights of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/any-group-or-collective-large-or-small-is-only-a-number-of/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [In a dynamic, decentralized system of individual choice and responsibility, people do not have to trust any authority but their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/in-a-dynamic-decentralized-system-of-individual-choice-and/)

[Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/)

## More by Charles Krauthammer

> [Obama and the Democrats were so critical of what Bush did, the interrogations, the secret prisons, Guantanamo and all of that, and even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/obama-and-the-democrats-were-so-critical-of-what-bush-did-the/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [“America is the most welcoming, religiously tolerant, philo-semitic country in the world. No nation since Cyrus the Great’s Persia has done more for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/america-is-the-most-welcoming-religiously-tolerant-philo-semitic/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [I believe in what I believe, and I think after all these years I've heard a lot of arguments, and I'm convinced by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/i-believe-in-what-i-believe-and-i-think-after-all-these-years-i-ve/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [With our financial house on fire, Obama makes clear both in in his speech and his budget that the essence of his presidency will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/with-our-financial-house-on-fire-obama-makes-clear-both-in-in-his/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [The conservative idea is not that government has no role. You might have argued that in the thirties when conservatives opposed the New Deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-conservative-idea-is-not-that-government-has-no-role-you-might/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [The war is not going well and it is time to say why. It has been fought with half-measures. It has been fought with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-war-is-not-going-well-and-it-is-time-to-say-why-it-has-been/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [“International stability is never a given. It is never the norm. When achieved, it is the product of self-conscious action by the great powers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/international-stability-is-never-a-given-it-is-never-the-norm-when/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [Look, I don't mind if the President sends a budget which he knows is not going to achieve anything. But when he prefaces his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/look-i-don-t-mind-if-the-president-sends-a-budget-which-he-knows-is/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [“Politics is the moat, the walls, beyond which lie the barbarians. Fail to keep them at bay, and everything burns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/politics-is-the-moat-the-walls-beyond-which-lie-the-barbarians-fail/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [Don't touch my junk, you airport security goon--my package belongs to no one but me, and do you really think I'm a Nigerian nut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/don-t-touch-my-junk-you-airport-security-goon-my-package-belongs-to/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [“The Russian Revolution and its imitators (Chinese, Cuban, Vietnamese, Cambodian) tried to atomize society so thoroughly--to war against the mediating structures that stand between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-russian-revolution-and-its-imitators-chinese-cuban-vietnamese/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [Where religion is trivialized, one is unlikely to find persecution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/where-religion-is-trivialized-one-is-unlikely-to-find-persecution/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [We must now brace ourselves for disquisitions on peer pressure, adolescent anomie, and rage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/we-must-now-brace-ourselves-for-disquisitions-on-peer-pressure/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [Post-Watergate morality, by which anything left private is taken as presumptive evidence of wrongdoing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/post-watergate-morality-by-which-anything-left-private-is-taken-as/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

> [“The largest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity,' warns Czech president Vaclav Klaus, 'is no longer socialism. It is, instead, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-largest-threat-to-freedom-democracy-the-market-economy-and/)

[Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

[Explore all 268 Charles Krauthammer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/)

## More Arbitrary quotes

> [It is irresponsible to set an arbitrary cap on how much therapy a Medicare beneficiary can receive. It ignores the health needs of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ensign/it-is-irresponsible-to-set-an-arbitrary-cap-on-how-much-therapy-a/)

[John Ensign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ensign/)

> [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/)

Edward Einhorn

> [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/)

[Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/)

> [Not to be offensive, not to be capricious, not to be arbitrary, not to be neurotic, not to be an actor outer, you're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hurt/not-to-be-offensive-not-to-be-capricious-not-to-be-arbitrary-not-to/)

[William Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hurt/)

> [I don't concern myself with thinking ahead to the finished product. I focus more specifically on what the character is experiencing. Once you relieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-eisenberg/i-don-t-concern-myself-with-thinking-ahead-to-the-finished-product-i/)

[Jesse Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-eisenberg/)

> [Habit is altogether too arbitrary a master for me to submit to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/habit-is-altogether-too-arbitrary-a-master-for-me-to-submit-to/)

[Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/)

> [I look back, now, and I know that the naming moment, which seemed so insignificant then, which seemed to demand no more than an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-look-back-now-and-i-know-that-the-naming-moment-which-seemed-so/)

[Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/)

> [Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/police-in-china-can-do-whatever-they-want-after-81-days-in-arbitrary/)

[Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/)

> [Contrary to what certain governments say, human rights are universal. Arbitrary detention, torture and discrimination hurt the human dignity of anybody, whatever his or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-ebadi/contrary-to-what-certain-governments-say-human-rights-are-universal/)

[Shirin Ebadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-ebadi/)

> [What causes adolescents to rebel is not the assertion of authority but the arbitrary use of power, with little explanation of the rules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/what-causes-adolescents-to-rebel-is-not-the-assertion-of-authority/)

[Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/)

> [There is something on earth greater than arbitrary or despotic power. The lightning has its power, and the whirlwind has its power, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/there-is-something-on-earth-greater-than-arbitrary-or-despotic-power/)

[Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/)

> [“nothing is arbitrary in this whole world, there is a good reason behind each and everything…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-kumar/nothing-is-arbitrary-in-this-whole-world-there-is-a-good-reason/)

Nikhil Kumar

> [Fundamentally, adopting rules without any estimate of the impact is the height of arbitrary decision-making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-o-rielly/fundamentally-adopting-rules-without-any-estimate-of-the-impact-is/)

[Michael O'Rielly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-o-rielly/)

> [No arbitrary regulation, no act of the legislature, can add anything to the capital of the country; it can only force it into artificial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ramsay-mcculloch/no-arbitrary-regulation-no-act-of-the-legislature-can-add-anything-to/)

John Ramsay McCulloch

> [But the desire of obtaining the advantages, and of escaping the burthens, of political society, is a perpetual and inexhaustible source of discord; nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/but-the-desire-of-obtaining-the-advantages-and-of-escaping-the/)

[Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/)

Browse all 529 Arbitrary quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "In an essay 10 years ago, I pointed out that it is utterly logical for polygamy rights to follow gay rights. After all, if traditional marriage is defined as the union of (1) two people of (2) opposite gender, and if, as advocates of gay marriage insist, the gender requirement is nothing but prejudice, exclusion and an arbitrary denial of one's autonomous choices in love, then the first requirement - the number restriction (two and only two) - is a similarly arbitrary, discriminatory and indefensible denial of individual choice.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles Krauthammer"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/in-an-essay-10-years-ago-i-pointed-out-that-it-is-utterly-logical-for/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Arbitrary"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/in-an-essay-10-years-ago-i-pointed-out-that-it-is-utterly-logical-for/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/charles-krauthammer-1232_arbitrary_in-an-essay-10-years-ago-i-pointed-out-t_1584792.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/charles-krauthammer-1232_arbitrary_in-an-essay-10-years-ago-i-pointed-out-t_1584792.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/charles-krauthammer-1232_arbitrary_in-an-essay-10-years-ago-i-pointed-out-t_1584792.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In an essay 10 years ago, I pointed out that it is utterly logical for polygamy rights to follow gay rights…” — Charles Krauthammer",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Charles Krauthammer",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "In an essay 10 years ago,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/in-an-essay-10-years-ago-i-pointed-out-that-it-is-utterly-logical-for/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/in-an-essay-10-years-ago-i-pointed-out-that-it-is-utterly-logical-for/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
