Betrayer And Betrayed

It’s nearly impossible to ignore the endless stream of best-selling celebrity biographies that owe their sales success to revelations of marital infidelities. Supermarket tabloids and tell-all web sites pay informants big bucks for such revelations, and for one simple reason — it sells.

It would seem that flaunting, and even encouraging unhappy and degrading episodes of infidelity and disloyalty is big business these days — and that’s a crying shame — not only for what it says about us as a society, but also for the kind of example it is setting for our children. And for the Internet generation, there can be little doubt many have grown even more cynical. Consider this advertising headline from a website that boasts more than 21 million members: “From faithful spouse to cheater in 36 hours.” In a recent interview with ABC News, the site’s spokesperson alleges 36 hours is the average time it takes from registering on the site, to having an affair. How very sad.