Has Cheating Become Acceptable Behaviour?
It certainly seems as though it has. In the days of Tiger Woods and Jesse James; we seem to view infidelity as an expected turn of events, an unsurprising series of episodes that gives fodder for rumour and speculation. Then we have the Ashley Madison sites who promote marital infidelity. Where is our concern for the spouses and children in these warped relationships? What about the drain on our community resources, medical clinics and legal system which gets bogged down by the misfortunate victims of the cheating spouses? Let's not even look at the emotional damage done to the recipient and their families, for the ramifications are too monstrous and overwhelming to list here. Yet we seem to delight or at the very least get caught up in the tales of others' misfortune. The media certainly doesn't help, as all the attention is placed on the "infamous" and the "wrong-doers" instead of the people who truly impact life in a positive manner day in and day out. Have we lost the outrage and a sense of sorrowful feeling for those that have become the victims of a cheating spouse.
Women cheat, men cheat and now it becomes almost an accepted norm in our society just because it receives so much attention when one does. So much so that if we were to catch a cheating spouse of a friend, would we turn the other cheek and talk ourselves out of tattling on the cheat because it doesnt serve us any purpose to do so or maybe because its easier just to tell ourselves that its none of our business. But would we let our friend walk into a burning building? Would we let that friend get into a car that we know has no working brakes? No, we probably wouldnt. So why then would we allow a friend to be hurt the way one is who has been cheated on? Maybe we satisfy ourselves by saying at least its not me or she/he will figure it out on their own. Maybe we assuage our concerns by reasoning that we dont want to be the cause of their pain. (We forget that the pain of betrayal is much worse than the truth told by a good friend or a close family member) Sometimes its as simple as fearing the loss of a valued friendship by appearing to pit yourself against their cheating spouse by implying or stating that their beloved is not faithful.
Whatever the reasoning, the bottom line is thisthe person who is aware of it and lets it continue without confronting the cheater or letting their friend/family member know by some means is as much at fault for turning a blind eye. Sure sometimes its best to keep opinions to yourself with your friends and family; but what we're talking about here is not merely an opinion, its a stone-cold fact. If you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you could save this person a considerable amount of hurt by exposing a cheat early in a relationship; why wouldnt you? We can ooh and aah, shake our heads and put on a really good show of concern, but really what does any one person actually do about it? A problem in todays dating and relationship world is that cheating has become commonplace and when something like this becomes ordinary, then ultimately it becomes accepted practice. Theres something seriously wrong with this way of thinking.
Women cheat, men cheat and now it becomes almost an accepted norm in our society just because it receives so much attention when one does. So much so that if we were to catch a cheating spouse of a friend, would we turn the other cheek and talk ourselves out of tattling on the cheat because it doesnt serve us any purpose to do so or maybe because its easier just to tell ourselves that its none of our business. But would we let our friend walk into a burning building? Would we let that friend get into a car that we know has no working brakes? No, we probably wouldnt. So why then would we allow a friend to be hurt the way one is who has been cheated on? Maybe we satisfy ourselves by saying at least its not me or she/he will figure it out on their own. Maybe we assuage our concerns by reasoning that we dont want to be the cause of their pain. (We forget that the pain of betrayal is much worse than the truth told by a good friend or a close family member) Sometimes its as simple as fearing the loss of a valued friendship by appearing to pit yourself against their cheating spouse by implying or stating that their beloved is not faithful.
Whatever the reasoning, the bottom line is thisthe person who is aware of it and lets it continue without confronting the cheater or letting their friend/family member know by some means is as much at fault for turning a blind eye. Sure sometimes its best to keep opinions to yourself with your friends and family; but what we're talking about here is not merely an opinion, its a stone-cold fact. If you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you could save this person a considerable amount of hurt by exposing a cheat early in a relationship; why wouldnt you? We can ooh and aah, shake our heads and put on a really good show of concern, but really what does any one person actually do about it? A problem in todays dating and relationship world is that cheating has become commonplace and when something like this becomes ordinary, then ultimately it becomes accepted practice. Theres something seriously wrong with this way of thinking.
