--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Marriage is what marriage is ... It's…" description: "\"Marriage is what marriage is ... It's like going out and saying, 'That tree is a car.' Well, the tree's not a car. A tree's a tree. Marriage is marriag..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/rick-santorum-1840_car_marriage-is-what-marriage-is-it-s-like-g_2587638.jpg" --- # Marriage is what marriage is ... It's like going out and… ![“Marriage is what marriage is ... It's like going out and saying, 'That tree is a car.' Well, the tree's not a car. A tree's a tree. Marriage is marriage.” quote by Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/rick-santorum-1840_car_marriage-is-what-marriage-is-it-s-like-g_2587638.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/rick-santorum-1840_car_marriage-is-what-marriage-is-it-s-like-g_2587638.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/rick-santorum-1840_car_marriage-is-what-marriage-is-it-s-like-g_2587638.jpg) > “Marriage is what marriage is ... It's like going out and saying, 'That tree is a car.' Well, the tree's not a car. A tree's a tree. Marriage is marriage.” [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Marriage cannot be reduced to absurd analogies; it is a distinct institution with its own rules and responsibilities. **In simple terms:** Marriage is a unique partnership, not a metaphor. Key Takeaway Respect the seriousness of marriage. Themes marriage relationships commitment Mood serious reflective Type statement philosophical When to use this quote - legal marriage - family planning - relationship counseling Key Concepts social contract institution Questions to Reflect On - How do you define marriage beyond legal terms? - What responsibilities arise from marriage? A Different Perspective Analogies oversimplify complex social bonds. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Election](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) ## Related quotes > [The old saying 'If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it - Does it still make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sunde/the-old-saying-if-a-tree-falls-in-a-forest-and-no-one-is-around-to/) [Peter Sunde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sunde/) > [Thinking that people are supposed to do or be anything other than what they are is like saying that the tree over there should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/thinking-that-people-are-supposed-to-do-or-be-anything-other-than/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [I think a marriage is as a marriage has always been, between a man and a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-think-a-marriage-is-as-a-marriage-has-always-been-between-a-man-and/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Culture, what you believe, what you value, how you live matters. Now, as fundamental as these principles are, they may become topics of democratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/culture-what-you-believe-what-you-value-how-you-live-matters-now-as/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [I would never have gotten married if it weren't for him. You have to want to be married to someone. You have to feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hathaway/i-would-never-have-gotten-married-if-it-weren-t-for-him-you-have-to/) [Anne Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hathaway/) > [The people who marry make a good marriage not marriage in itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-people-who-marry-make-a-good-marriage-not-marriage-in-itself/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Better no marriage, than a marriage short of the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/better-no-marriage-than-a-marriage-short-of-the-best/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Society is built on marriage ... marriage and its consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/society-is-built-on-marriage-marriage-and-its-consequences/) [John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/) > [Marriage is so unlike everything else. There is something even awful in the nearness it brings. 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And that's a couple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/obviously-the-first-thing-we-need-to-do-is-repeal-obamacare-that-s/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) [Explore all 204 Rick Santorum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) ## More Car quotes > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. 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