As a culture, America has become an astonishingly unforgiving place. The trend towards mandatory minimum sentences was perhaps when I first noticed it. But nowhere are we less forgiving than in regard to sexuality. In Tom’s post about Plan B, a commenter said:
Suck it up. Either have the kid, or have the abortion. Either way, George Bush was not in the bedroom…
Suck it up?
Would she who is without an impulsive moment please cast the first stone?
Plan B offers women a non-invasive, non-surgical means of preventing pregnancy. Our cultural answer seems to be, well fuck that. Can’t have it be easy.
And while perhaps this particular commenter isn’t a Puritan, doesn’t this attitude come from the idea that if we make mistakes we should suffer? If we have a sexually impulsive moment, it’s only right that we should “suck up” the most painful, expensive, and long-term consequences possible? Surely there should be no Get Out of Pregnancy Free cards!
Because none of us nice women have had sex on impulse. Without birth control. Just for fun. (And remember, the woman in this article had sex with her husband. I’m told even Puritans approve of that.)
What if we lived in a world where people sometimes behaved foolishly, smiled ruefully, and moved on? Without losing friends, respect, or having to undergo surgery? What if, when we hear of someone making a mistake, we all paused to reflect on our own mistakes?
I think I’d like that world.
