Per a 2015 study, searches for terms related to open relationships [an innocent sounding euphemism for the 7th commandment that mandates the death penalty] have been rising steadily for the past 10 years. In a follow-up study, the same group of researchers found that more than one in five Americans have engaged in a non-monogamous relationship at some point in their lifetime.
The way I view what is happening in modern society is through the lense of the Ramban {Dvarim 29-18]:
Basically - the slippery slope. It gets worse and worse. The example of spouses agreeing to allow each other to have relations with other people is one of many. People are constantly on the search for more and more [often illicit] pleasures. Instead of condemning this - our culture has not only justified deviant behaviors but almost sanctified them. It is a source of PRIDE to cross the boundaries of basic, traditional morality. We have seen even in the last few years a radical change in attitude. People used to hide things in which they now glorify. If people promote old fashioned values they are called bigots, homophobes, Nazis etc. etc.
We are part of society. Their mores filter down to us UNLESS we are cognizant of their influence and actively combat it.
If you are married to one spouse alone - TAKE PRIDE in that. If you only had children AFTER marriage - take pride in that. If you are careful about yichud and looking at inappropriate images - make a party for yourself. Treat yourself like a king. You are a modern day hero. A Gadol. A contemporary Avraham Ha-Ivri about whom Chazal say "הוא מעבר אחד וכל העולם כולו מעבר שני" - he was on one side and the rest of the world on the other.
If you are married to one spouse alone - TAKE PRIDE in that. If you only had children AFTER marriage - take pride in that. If you are careful about yichud and looking at inappropriate images - make a party for yourself. Treat yourself like a king. You are a modern day hero. A Gadol. A contemporary Avraham Ha-Ivri about whom Chazal say "הוא מעבר אחד וכל העולם כולו מעבר שני" - he was on one side and the rest of the world on the other.
