I bought the Swell Season album today and am listening to it right now

I've been trying to formulate what it is I want to say in regards to the Tiger Woods fiasco.
I will start by saying I hate even discussing it, because a) it's all conjecture and b) it's between him and his wife and it must be excruciating to have to deal with this in the public eye.
I will also say that I have addressed the issue of infidelity before, and my thoughts haven't changed much.
And now I would like to put forth a comment on one of the numerous articles about what Tiger did or did not do, which Michael forwarded to me:
"I don't mean to be a dick but if you make that much money and are on the road all of the time his wife should expect this shit. She has the right to be pissed that it has become public but other than that she should shut it. She has huge homes, huge bank accounts and no worries, a few women on the side should be no big deal. You want commitment marry a blue collar who doesn't have the time, money or energy to cheat.
I am not saying it is her fault, I am just saying she should expect it and get on with her rich ass life. The odds of having a ton of money and a meaningful relationship are slim and only a few can have the best of both worlds. One out of two ain't bad."
I agree with this statement.
However, it is not this statement or the allegations of cheating or the alleged golf clubs to the face that bother me right now.
What bothers me is that is 2009 and we're very quick to condemn someone that slips up. Given the divorce rate (around 50%) and the stats on cheating, my concern is that we, as a society, are not discussing this. It's been around forever and it's not going to go away. North American society says that you're a jerk if you screw around and so cheaters lie about what they're doing. Lying and being deceitful isn't a logical or reasonable way to deal with something that appears to be very much a part of human nature.
When I was single I had a couple questions that I needed answered right off the bat to discern of the relationship was worth taking to the next step or not: do you believe in marriage? Do you want children? They were deal breakers. I think maybe there was a third question that I could have asked.
Perhaps a more rational way to deal non-monogamy is to a) accept that it's part of who we are as humans and b) to discuss it as grown ups. That way there will be no surprises. People won't have to lie.
Let's say Tiger and his wife had this discussion and he still went out and had an affair. Okay, I could see how she could be pissed. The flip side of this is that she is living high off the life that he has been working since he was in elementary school to create. And they likely ended up in this scenario because he felt compelled to lie because in contemporary society we just can't fathom the thought of our partner being with someone else, even though a large segment of the populace is, in fact, doing just that.
The secondary issue for me is that we equate sex with love. We are very easily persuaded (thanks to Hallmark, the media, the antiquated idea of marriage and the concept of romantic love) that when our significant other sleeps with someone else it means they hold their current relationship in some sort of contempt.
As much as you are able to believe that Tiger Woods is a bastard for having an affair (or affairs) and that his wife is much beleaguered and deserved of our sympathy, can you not entertain the notion that he loves his wife, loves his family but still wishes to have sex with the innumerable beautiful women that no doubt throw themselves at him wherever he goes?
Look. If monogamy works for you and your partner and you have both agreed to have a monogamous relationship then I wish you all the success and happiness in the world.
But our current society is not treating it as a choice. We're treating it as given even though we have reams of evidence to confirm that a lot of people find that monogamy isn't working for them.
And we're wringing our hands and casting judgement and getting upset when someone goes and does something that they shouldn't (according to...?) instead of sitting down over a cup of coffee like the goddamned logical, rational, realistic, enlightened and intelligent people that we so often purport to be.
In other news (and please put down the rocks that you are oh-so-willing to lob at me), I am really enjoying The Swell Season's "Strict Joy". Created, no less, by a couple the hooked up and then disbanded.
As one does.