Quickwrite: Rules Of Love

The rules for relationships in American society are diverse and varied. Because of the many cultures and ethnicities in the United States, there is a good mixture of what is to be accepted as relationship rules. There is a generally accepted doctrine for what to do, but this varies widely depending on where you are in the world.

This all makes describing "American" rules of love exceedingly difficult. However, the most common guideline/stigma to relationships is the prohibition of infidelity. No matter the religion or culture, this is the common taboo due to its negative image to devotion.

The most common situation of rule violation is cheating on your mate, or having more than one girlfriend/boyfriend. This is most usually criticized because it is not a true representation of love. Having betrayed a partner automatically earns you the label of a degenerate.

However, depending on the situation, it might be okay to have more than one partner. Usually, it is non-consenting, but occurs in the interest of sexual or emotional gratification. It all depends on the person in a certain place and time.

While there are no serious consequences to this kind of behavior, there might be feelings of guilt or shame for the person who commits the act. People end up having their feelings hurt, and relationships may get broken. Trust is destroyed between people and there is shunning by friends and family who find out.

Society as a whole does not punish this kind of behavior because it realizes that infidelity happens far too often. It is driven by humanity's more basic instincts for self gratification. In some cultures, infidelity is not seen as a taboo at all, even though the act carries a bad connotation.

It is unclear where these relationship rules come from, but it is obvious that they are heavily influenced by religion and the general media. Often, religions condone or encourage only certain types of behavior when it comes to relationships. That's why traditional American marriage occurs inside a church.

As for the media, certain stereotypes describing relationships are almost always obvious, and the majority who watch mimic the behavior.

As a whole, the rules of love are strictly dependent on society and the people inside them.