Philosophy

Good People Sleeping Around with Other Good People

Mitch Pearlstein did a piece yesterday in the Star Tribune, explaining why he wouldn't be watching the last episode of Friends. He pictured his child coming to sit with him while he was watching it and being exposed to another very appealing pitch for sleeping around quite a lot.

Anyhow, he's lucky. Lots of parents would be overjoyed if their kids wanted to do anything with them.

But also, I think this is true: any kid is going to someday run into very appealing people who take sex pretty lightly. They won't have horns. They won't get into sordid bar fights. They may even stay friends with the people they used to sleep with. What sexual conservatives have to explain is why they are right anyway-- even though this sort of stuff does happen. Friends appeals because its picture of relationships seems plausible to people. To hormone driven kids, it will seem especially plausible.

I don't want to dispute Mr. Pearlstein's timing: he is entitled to choose when to talk things over with his children. But, if the conservative position is to endure in a modern society, on some couch, sometime, he has to have that conversation.