Auren Hoffman is a former ASUC student advocate and senior
majoring in industrial engineering and operations research.
By Auren Hoffman
Abortion has consumed the American moral debate for the past few
decades. There is no other issue as likely to spark a fuse in any
American. But why is abortion one of the few moral issues that has
penetrated political dialogue? Whether you are anti-abortion,
pro-choice or somewhere in between, you must agree that abortion in
itself is part of a much larger issue – morals.
Unlike some gloom and doomists, I don’t believe that American
morals are declining. I don’t see enough evidence to suggest that
the morals of Americans today are less than those of yesteryear.
But, regardless, our society’s morals are still far less than they
ought to be.
One issue I’ve never heard a politician talk about is adultery.
Adultery is wrong. Everybody knows that; everyone will tell you
that, but there are many people who regularly practice it. Millions
of Americans cheat on their spouses regularly. That’s wrong. One of
my friends once said that "we are a world of cheaters." I don’t
know about you, but I’d rather live among the honest and the
righteous than the liars and the cheats.
Adultery is causing a silence in many families. Spouses who
promised to be faithful to one another, to never lie to one another
and to love one another truly are not living up to their vows.
Frequently, acts of adultery are caused by confusion,
miscommunication or unwisely giving in to cheap temptation.
Unfortunately, many in our society condone such actions. The
victims of adultery are not the spouses who were cheated on, but
the children who have had their families taken away from them.
But none of our "leaders" are taking advantage of the bully
pulpit to talk to Americans. One friend of mine theorized that the
subject of adultery is mute in Washington because the issue would
be too hypocritical for a politician to address. If that is true,
our country needs some serious help. But I don’t believe that. I
think that our "leaders" fail to talk about adultery because they
are afraid. They are afraid of speaking against a long-standing
practice committed by many of their constituents. Many of our
"leaders" are cowards.
To do their jobs, politicians in Washington can’t just stand up
and say "family values." They must use their positions and access
to the media to press the issue and to take a stand for the
children of America. Just as our society does not tolerate
alcoholism, drug abuse and profanity, we should not tolerate
adultery. We must end our muted silence and stress personal
responsibility.