by Patrick Sills

Created on: January 03, 2008   Last Updated: April 14, 2009

The very thought of a "stay faithful" pill is preposterous. Sexual desire is one of the most naturally-occurring traits a human will possess. It would be quite naive to believe that any spouse, male or female, regardless of how long they have been married, hasn't been physically attracted to someone else at one time or another. This, however, does not mean that infidelity will result.

But let's assume that in some instances, the temptation proves to be too great, and an extramarital affair does result. In such a case, the proposal that pharmaceutical companies should develop such a pill would parallel that which is currently happening to smokers. How so? Many proponents of smokers' rights hold strong beliefs that the drug companies initiated the whole "secondhand smoke" hype in order to reap huge profits from the sale of smoking-cessation aids. Now suppose that some religious group decides that the moral fabric of our nation's millions of inhabitants needs to be "corrected." What better way to fix this problem than by producing a pill that will turn us into unfeeling eunichs whenever a married partner leaves the house?

One of the Ten Commandments states: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife." Today, "wife" should be interpreted as "marital partner." So does this mean you are condemned to an eternity of damnation if you admire your next door neighbor's wife as she is sunbathing? If a married woman works out in a gym, is she destined to be cast into the fires of Hell because she looked twice at some buff guy with rippling biceps? The answer to both of these questions is no. It's one thing to find someone attractive; even to fantasize about them, and quite another to literally commit the act of adultery. There are certainly those who will disagree; those who say that lust and adultery are one and the same. If this is true, then the hereafter below us will become one very crowded place. Therefore, imagine the profits that could be realized with the production and sale of such a drug!

But therin lies the problem. We are living in the dawn of the twenty-first century. Chastity belts went out of style hundreds of years ago. The time of Puritans and Quakers, unless you count the Amish, is long past. Adult-oriented entertainment can be found just about anywhere. As a society, we have become more tolerant and open-minded. As this happens, in Pete Townsend's words, the morals that we worshiped will be gone. In other words, the teachings of the Bible have become outdated for 99 out of 100 people. Perhaps, within that remaining 1%, one would find the person or persons who suggested such a "stay-faithful" pill.

There are plenty of deterrents to infidelity without Big Brother-like medications. Sexually-transmitted diseases come to mind; as do painful, bitter divorces. Financially debilitating child-support payments. And most importantly, a happy marriage accompanied by a lifelong, loving relationship.
The notion of a "stay-faithful pill" should scare us all.

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