A recent CNN article posed the question, Is monogamy realistic? The article expounds on the difficulty associated with remaining loyal to one mate for life and casually points to serial monogamy as a viable option – monogamy with one lover after another from one season of life to the next.  However, even serial monogamy is viewed as too restrictive by some, at which point the concept of open marriage is explored, also known as polyamory.  Furthermore, Newsweek reports that researchers believe there are currently more than half a million polyamory families in the United States.

The article’s author, A. Pawlowski, introduces readers to a man named Mark who prefers to keep his last name anonymous.  Mark and his wife practice open marriage and enjoy dating other people, having casual sex with a limitless number of partners, and even “falling in love” on occasion – all the while staying married to each other.  Mark comments that while some men might be bothered by the site of their wife on a date with another man, it doesn’t bother him a bit.  How thoughtful, right ladies?

Well, there’s good news for you, Mark-who-prefers-to-stay-anonymous, and anyone else who would suggest that our culture exchange martial faithfulness for a lifetime of promiscuity.  You are not alone in your philosophy!  Believe it or not, there are billions who would agree with you.  Wait a minute . . . there goes a fellow supporter now.  He’s squatting and defecating in my lawn.  That’s right; every dog in the world shares your same approach to love and commitment.  They sniff; they mate; they move on.

A wise man once said, “There’s a high price for low living.”  As society rejects sexual boundaries and scoffs at the sacredness of marriage, who will come along and “scoop up” the inevitable messes such as unwanted pregnancies, broken homes, emotionally wounded children, and rampant STDs, just to name a few?  And how is it that even dogs eventually connect bad behavior with consequences, but a large portion of our society seems to increasingly reject family values, even as the consequences mount?

Of course it’s not easy to stay married to the same person for life because it requires that a man and woman love their mate more than themselves.  Furthermore, the notion of loving anything more than self is steadily becoming un-American.

Sheryl Crow sings this generation’s anthem: “If it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad.”   Oh, but it can be that bad, Sheryl.  When our sexual standards are no better than that of the family pet, it’s that bad.