A Modest Proposal

The threading that takes place on Facebook has led to an enormous ball of yarn that can lead just about anywhere. One of my friends posted a link to a blog about the nature of viral YouTube wedding proposals.

While the blog isn't particularly well written or eloquent, it does make some good points.

It basically states that marriage proposals have become huge creative affairs caught on video with the intent of drawing enough traffic to make it go viral. And that the nature of true romance isn't in how a video track is laid down, but how a man is willing to lay down his life for his future wife.

The writer includes an example from his own father's proposal. I don't know if it was real or made up, but I think it provides a realistic contrast to what we find on YouTube these days.

I can see how the phenomenon of the theatrical proposal would have started. Some guys wanted to do something different, something unique and memorable to ask for their girlfriend's hand in marriage. In order to capture the moment, they had it video recorded by a friend or family member.

Then to be able to show it to friends, they uploaded it to YouTube where other people saw it as well, and it gave them the idea to do something similar, or to even top it.

And the snowball started rolling downhill.

Now it often seems like the point is the theatrical production of the proposal and how much of an audience it can generate as opposed to an agreement in kind between two people to share the rest of their lives together.

As for how I proposed to my wife, it was boring by comparison.

It was a dark, windy beach in southeast Georgia. The night was warm. We were the only ones there. There was no ring, no kneeling, no fireworks except for that which went off in my soul when she said, "Yes."

It was perfect.

And it was memorable.