pegster...
So, if cheating is cheating, and marriage is forever, are there ever circumstances when divorce is acceptable?
Absolutely.
(I thought I posted this yesterday but I guess not???) Anyway...
Cheating does not end marriages. It's what happens after that. Why was there cheating and what is to be done about it? I mean, fill in the blanks with a thousand different scenarios we've all heard about or experienced.
If two people decide to end their marriage, that does not disqualify either person from responsibility or authority...depending on how they handle it.
How the hell does the boss tell you you are late and that it's a big deal if he has decided that sleeping with the help is fine?
How does he ask or demand loyalty to the company or to a goal or project if he has found it convenient and easier to get some on the side?
How does he fire a subordinant for violating confidential information if he is laying in a hotel room violating every confidence his wife ever placed in him, crying to some one 20 years his junior that his wife doesn't 'understand' him?
On the other hand, a boss who is suffering from the strains of getting a divorce or trying to make it work can be a source of strength for some young kid going through the same thing. Does he say 'tough it out kid, you'll both be happy you did' or does he say 'hey, you know, Mary in finance sure knows how to get your mind of things, kiddo!.'
Cohens premise is that it is JUST sex. As in 'just' lunch. Or 'just' rode the elevator together or 'just' car pooled together. Under the guise of 'don't force your morals on me' Richard Cohen states, unequivocably, that violating your marriage vows has NO impact or bearing on anything else one does.
Getting divorced is one thing. Choosing to have an open marriage is another.
Being in a position of responsibility and authority and demanding that everyone else be loyal, follow the rules and work together to acheive a goal is severely challenged when you are interpreting your own idea of what loyalty, working together and following the rules means in your marriage.
We have marriage vows and not marriage suggestions.