Till "Divorce" Do Us Part..

Our Cheating Hearts

Directed Freewrite #2, Page 292 – “On the basis of evolutionary psychology’s insights into human sexual behavior, write an essay arguing that heterosexual, monogamous marriage ought to be either preserved or abolished, drawing on points in Wright’s essay, as well as on your own opinions and ideas, if relevant.”

Until recently the infamous line of “till death do us part” seemed to define almost every marriage. Now, presently, whenever I hear those words, I almost want to say, “Yeah, right.” Although I strongly believe in marriage and that there really is such a thing as “true love,” I can understand why our society is so hesitant about marriage. With divorce rates increasing, it almost seems as if there’s no hope when it comes to exchanging vows.

Robert Wright’s essay points out numerous relevant facts about marriage today and why it is so corrupt. According to evolutionary psychology, it’s natural for both men and women to commit adultery and to suddenly find a spouse unattractive, irritating, and wholly unreasonable (Wright 280). This has always been part of our human nature in the past and presently, but why do we cheat and ruin marriages? We all know that love between a man and woman is a human universal (Wright 284). Evolution has not only invented what we call romantic love, but from the beginning it has also corrupted it, according to Wright (Wright 284).

There are several different factors that have affected monogamy over the years. The lies and images our movies, billboards and magazines produce have shaped the human mind (Wright 286). Males are taught to think that blondes with bigger breasts and tiny bodies are the only type of “pretty.” Images like these flood the male mind with false advertising of finding the perfect girl that our society has created. One of the largest modern obstacles to making monogamy work is economic equality (Wright 286). A man’s social status can help his children later on in life, so it is only natural that women should lust after men with higher statuses (Wright 287). In our society today, a higher status consists of an affluent amount of money and good looks, which rules out thousands of possible compatible men. With all of these bumps in the road of marriage, it almost seems impossible to make a marriage last.

So is there hope despite all of these obstacles? I think so. It takes a strong and smart person to reject what our media feeds our eyes and ears each and every day. One needs to realize that not every woman or every man will have a perfectly tanned and toned body along with a fat wallet. Our society as a whole needs to wake up from this dream we are all living in. Yes, infidelity is natural, but I believe that if you truly love someone, you can stop yourself from doing the dirty deed. Charles Darwin once believed that the human species is the only moral animal species. Yes, we humans are moral, so we do have the capability to decipher right from wrong because we are aware of what is going on around us. We are potentially moral animals, so we should not make up excuses for our actions. It’s not all these outside factors that have corrupted marriage, but it is us who have done so. All in all, monogamous marriage should be saved, but the first step is to realize the monster we have created.