It's a sad sad world

I experienced something this week that made me realize that the world in which we live is very different from the one I have created in my naive little head. I, Gretchen Clayson, was tested for an STD - more specifically chlamydia - despite numerous protests and assurances of my own moral character and absolute faith in my husband's fidelity. As I lay there on the exam table I recalled another time when my moral character was called into judgement. It was when I was pregnant and a gentleman I worked with asked me if I would be changing my name once the baby came - assuming, obviously, that I was unwed.

Now first let me say that while these two instances are a bit offensive to me personally, I find more humor in them than anything else because of how absolutely ridiculous they are. That being said, it also scares me that we live in such a world that the first assumption someone made about a pregnant woman is that she is unmarried. Furthermore, it deeply saddens me that military culture is so filled with infidelity (especially during deployments) that MY word was not good enough for the doctor and that I was subjected to a test that I absolutely knew was going to come back negative - yet I felt the full shame of being screened for a sexually transmitted disease as the airman who I told three times that it was not necessary to screen me for said STD was called back into the exam room to prepare a swab for a chlamydia test.

There is all this talk out there now about loving whoever, not being bound by laws or "morals". I don't care what other people do in their bedrooms but I do care about the decay of the moral fabric of society. Sexual promiscuity is dangerous - it has consequences. Those who don't think so are living in a dream world. STDs, unplanned pregnancy, they are all consequences of living this "I do what I want with who I want" mindset. Alright, I'm done ranting.