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Recently, I had an epiphany. All
men are cheaters. I don't care what you say, one way or another
you have met a man who has cheated, you are a man who has cheated
or you are reptile who is willing to cheat. I am not judging the
male species but I am stereotyping. Yes, I have the evidence,
the life experiences and the gall to label all men cheaters...
I have a problem with men who marry and those men that pretend
to have a soulmate and then lay in bed with another. Let's face
it; we are all animals by nature and men especially have a tendency
to live out their animalistic ways. Maybe it's society's fault.
Americans have been trained to fulfill their fantasies, do what
feels good and not think before they act. Men are a prime example
of this.
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It was the week before Christmas.
The year was 1988. As usual, Mom was busy dusting wooden legs
of coffee tables, baking chocolate chip cookies and hanging stockings
from the fireplace mantel in preparation for our family holiday
party. Once she was done with those duties, she made her way over
to the hamper to do a load of laundry.
As she emptied the pockets of every
garment before placing them in the sudsy water, she came across
a crumpled dingy receipt in my father`s Levi jeans. Squinting
to read the origin of it, she read "Burlington Coat Factory."
Her eyes sparkled as she realized, a week early, that her Christmas
present from my father was a fur coat.
Christmas morning ran smoothly:
My brother received his Matchbox cars and I received the New Kids
on The Block pillowcase I had longed for. My mother received a
robe and cookware but no fur coat. Months later, my mother would
find out that the $400 fur coat my father purchased was for his
bimbo mistress.
My dad was a cheater his entire
life. He cheated on his ex-wife with my mother and now he was
following that same pattern again. I never understood my father's
unfaithful ways and I still don't.
Was it my mother's fault? Was she
not fulfilling his needs frequently enough?
Or was my father to blame? Was he
insecure? Why did he always need a new woman to show him affection
and love? Was he obsessed with getting attention?
Why wasn't my mother good enough?
Was she exquisite enough to marry, but not good enough to stay
true to?
So, why do people cheat and turn
their backs on people they supposedly 'love'? What pushes someone
over the edge so much that they're willing to lose their home
and children for a couple of sleazy nights of adulterous passion?
It doesn`t matter how long I ponder
this question. An answer doesn't evolve. Maybe cheaters have no
concept of what real love is. Maybe cheaters are unsatisfied but
too insecure to break away from a person to who they've grown
so comfortable. Or could it be that "once a cheater, always
a cheater" remains true? So, a cheater's needs can never
be met?
In the past, adulterers were stoned
to death or made to wear a scarlet letter to advertise their shame,
but today the letter A seems to stand for ambiguity. Strong disapproval
of adultery has continued in western society until fairly recently.
The seventh commandment states,
"Thou shalt not commit adultery." If this is true then
why do so many of us do it? This act has become a favorite past
time and it`s nauseating.
Consider this:
"The Bridges of Madison County"
was a bestseller, right? But, the novel was about an adulterous
affair between a middle-aged farmer`s wife and a rugged photographer.
This affair was celebrated as the epitome of true love.
Take a glance at Prince Charles
and the late Princess Diana. They both committed adultery and
made excuses for themselves by saying they were looking for a
way out of a loveless marriage.
Think about President Clinton and
his sexual participation with Monica.
Do you remember Mary Letourneau?
She was the former grade school teacher who destroyed her family
and marriage by having sexual relations with her 13-year-old student.
Where are the morals? Where is the
respect? And, where's the honesty?
I don't know why lovers turn to
cheating. I don't think I ever will. What I do know is that my
father ruined our family because of his lustfulness and he'll
be a lonely old man because of it. Just remember: what goes around
comes around.
"People have always done it but at least there was a sense
of shame. Now, sex has become recreation and the attitude is,
if it feels good, do it. But there's no question, adultery destroys
marriage." - Rabbi Gold, author.
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