I named this blog "Half Life" because I just turned 53 and have at most half a life left, and have also always felt an affinity for the idea of 'half life'—how long it takes for a quantity of atoms to decay to half the original value—as a child I was fascinated by the idea of diminishing in that manner rather than in the stark 'life, or 'death'; now, of course, I'm quite familiar with diminishment in all its forms and am trying to find it as beautiful as well as terrible.
All the news yesterday (March 18, 2008) from Obama's seminal race speech to the David Paterson, James McGreevy follies, on top of the now almost forgotten Eliot Spitzer mess make me think it's time for someone to give a lucid speech on why it's time for a national conversation about the need to perfect our sexual literacy: it's not 'cheating' if you're using your own body.
birthday photo
2 comments:
Not sure, although it does seem cheating is not the right adjective. Certainly, you are not cheating yourself - in the example you give - especially if you are not misrepresenting yourself. However, in the case of Spitzer and in the case of Mrs. McGreevey there is hypocrisy. And hypocrisy is related to cheating... Someone at a dinner last night was talking about the difference between remorse, regret and guilt. I added worrying which envelopes all three. However I got her point. If you end up feeling remorse, regret or guilt about behaviour - your own - you probably have hurt someone if only yourself. It is almost always too late to take care of regret; you can often make up for remorse, though with melancholy but guilt trumps the others; it involves compensation...
Dishonesty is a form of cheating. If someone is in a traditional marriage and deceives their mate it is disrespectful. A person may do whatever they wish with their own body. However if there has not been a pre-agreement about extramarital affairs, an innocent person may be exposed to sexually transmitted disease or humiliation.
On the other hand, if there is prior agreement, the field is then open to the excitement, love, or risks involved.
Post a Comment