Is the Pill our Undoing?

On the subject of the contraceptive pill and the institution of marriage, I was startled to see someone of the stature of Raquel Welch provide a no-compromise comment on the defence of marriage. Amongst other things, she declared:

"These days, nobody seems able to "keep it in their pants" or honor a commitment! Raising the question: Is marriage still a viable option? I'm ashamed to admit that I myself have been married four times, and yet I still feel that it is the cornerstone of civilization, an essential institution that stabilizes society, provides a sanctuary for children and saves us from anarchy.

In stark contrast, a lack of sexual inhibitions, or as some call it, "sexual freedom," has taken the caution and discernment out of choosing a sexual partner, which used to be the equivalent of choosing a life partner. Without a commitment, the trust and loyalty between couples of childbearing age is missing, and obviously leads to incidents of infidelity. No one seems immune."

She is totally correct. The pill is but a product; a means to an end, but in my opinion, the end is what harbours the malice.

What endangers the institution of marriage and many other valuable institutions in our culture is a systematic and general erosion of our moral values. Western cultures have been progressively destroying traditional ethical systems such as Virtue Ethics and even modern ones such as Deontology and Consequentialism in exchange for greater quarterly profits.

Some would call me a sexist and I agree that promiscuity is harmful whether it comes from women or men. Yet one must concede to the fact that, coincidence or not, promiscuity has increased many fold after the introduction of the pill and other contraceptive and abortive means. Nowadays people do take less care in choosing their partners and this has had a destructive impact on how easily people break their marital commitments.

It seems to me that women once tendered themselves more dearly and that, by their example, men were invited to do the same to achieve their partners. It also seems to me that, important as it may be, the economic independence of women has come at unforeseen costs to society. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for independent women, but the supposed "sexual freedom" that was endeared to our society in the 1960's and 1970's has actually imprisoned us in a cycle of "irresponsible sex" and its myriad socioeconomic consequences instead.

If you are honest with yourself, you will admit that the concept of "free sex" is a fallacy in itself. Let's not kid ourselves that getting sexually involved has no emotional impact attached to it. Let's not kid ourselves that there is no moral and social responsibility involved in giving this step. It's not just pleasure. Regardless of the "options" medical science affords us today, sex is still the doorway to new life and the continuation of our species, our families and our values. By distorting sex into a mere plaything, we are making it into just one more pastime and it has to be more than that. I know that to me it is.

The truth is that nowadays we seem to turn a blind eye to immorality so long as it brings us fame and fortune. Then we follow the rich and famous into moral decay; seeking to become rich and famous like them. We do this at the expense of our self respect, our marriages, our families and our children.

If you'd like to see the full enterview with Raquel Welch, here's the link:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/05/07/welch.sex.pill/index.html