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Signing of the registry. Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.

Commitment is a pledge, a promise, a dedication, even an obligation. Without entering into value judgments, is fair to say that, in the old days, committing yourself sometimes meant staying committed forever. Now, however, there seems to be a growing disregard for the value of commitment, as far as its duration and content are concerned.

Marital commitment, for instance, used to be indefinite, until death parted the married couple. Today, unions are temporary by definition; in fact, couple, family and neighbourhood relationships are defined as ‘liquid’ bonds, for they are frail and vulnerable. The great Colombian writer Héctor Abad Faciolince maintains: “The great misfortune of marriage, of long love relationships, is the deterioration of desire”. That is to say, if desire fails, there is no sense in maintaining the commitment.

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