I was watching a show the other day when some of the characters got into a discussion about monogamy. They said it was unnatural. They claimed that the widespread failure of marriage and relationships was proof that our social system of dedicated relationships is archaic and oppressive.
It's not the first time I've heard things like this. Usually, it's from men looking to justify their own infidelity. Now there are even large numbers of women who are supporting the claim that human beings naturally want to wander from mate to mate.
They make some good arguments. It is entirely possible that human beings are not monogamous in our most natural state.
Let me make another observation, though. If we hit the reset button on civilization and plunged our world into darkness, people would cheat, steal, lie, and murder to survive. Such things are happening in third world countries across the globe, even as you read this.
A cynical mind would look at this and say that this "proves" that people are violent, deceptive animals, only held in check by societal pressures. I say that those societal pressures came about because there is something deeper in mankind, a drive to be better than we are. That may not be our default setting, but it is something we should be reaching for. So as a human race, are we "naturally"...
Peaceful?
Kind?
Humble?
Loyal?
Monogamous?
No. I cannot, with my knowledge of history and human nature, make that claim.
But we are when at our best.
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