The old saying about how if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, its a duck has many applications. One of these concerns the family and marriage itself. Cheating is cheating no matter how it is dressed up in fancy terms and non-blaming language. One can call it a tryst, a fling, a slip, an error in judgment, a weak moment, etc. It is still CHEATING. It is still being unfaithful. It is still adultery.
The dyad of the cheater and their lover remains illegitimate and unnatural. Even if the President and Congress and whatever other ‘authority figure’ proclaims that it is a ‘redefined family’, it is a ‘loving couple’ or some other flavor of meadow muffin, it remains the ugly eyesore it was before. A duck is a duck is a duck.
Part of coming to grips with cheating is calling it what it is. You need to call a duck a duck and a chicken a chicken, no matter how similar they may be. The cheating couple is an unnatural bonding. It is outside the institution of marriage.
So the next time you want to call the cheating some more acceptable term recognize it for what it is. It can be painted and made to smell better, but it is still ugly, no matter how it makes you feel.
Best Regards,
Jeffrey D Murrah
