I have a very interesting question for everyone out there in the married/divorced land, or the been-cheated-on land, or even the did-the-cheating-on land. So listen up.
On a recent episode of Larry King Live, political pundit and comedian Bill Maher was on to plug his new movie and the return of his late-night talk show. Since Maher loves to discuss all things political (and is still very proudly single) Larry King asked him his opinion on John Edwards' affair. Maher's response was very intriguing. I wish I had the transcript of that episode so I can write it verbatim but unfortunately I don't. What Maher said was something along the lines of how in our society we demand monogamy during a marriage, which might not be realistic.
He said that men cheating on their wives doesn't mean they don't love them per se, rather that men are always wanting "new" you-know-what. In our culture, if a married person (especially men) were to have the urge to "do it" elsewhere, they're just supposed to fight the urge and stay miserable. His point - I think - was to question whether or not such expectations are realistic, for any gender.
In his defense, Maher did say - in that same show - that he's not strictly against marriage, just that thus far in his life it has not been for him. But he made it a point to say that nobody knows what the future holds.
His points struck a chord with me, though I don't know why. Marriage is obviously an age-old cultural concept, not a biological contrivance. Is it natural to stay "true" to someone, forever?
What do you guys think?