There I was, at a stop sign, when a truck carrying new cars passed by me, and it hit me (an idea, that is)! Not only did those cars have plastic foil on the body of the cars, but they had it on the wheels as well! You know, you’ve seen the white plastic wrap that new cars have on them – it’s there to protect them from scratches during transport. Now, they’ve got plastic wrap on the alloy wheels as well. I guess nitpicky people complained that wheels on new cars had scratches, and didn’t want to buy them anymore…

The point is, people everywhere are obsessed with things being brand new when they get them. They won’t even buy a toaster if the box has been opened. Forget buying a cereal box if it’s open. Jars of jam and bottles of milk even have warnings on them, that say we shouldn’t get them or consume them if the seal’s been broken.

Overall, our incessant desire for new, fresh, unopened products is good. It’s led to cleaner, more hygienic development standards in the food industry and as applicable, in all other industries. But I wonder, why don’t we all share that same desire for something new, fresh and unopened when it comes to the most important thing in our lives – our spouses? We blissfully accept used goods there, don’t we? Do we even question our spouses or sexual partners about their past history? Most people don’t. While they wouldn’t think twice about drinking an opened bottle of milk, they’ll gladly swap bodily fluids and subject themselves to diseases of all kinds, all for the sake a few frenzied, passing seconds.

Shouldn’t we have better standards than this? Shouldn’t we demand, of ourselves and of others (all of us), that we present ourselves at our (first) marriages as “fresh and unopened” as possible? Isn’t that the perfect gift we could give our spouses? After all, we’re not talking about a toaster or a VCR, that we’ll use for a few years then throw away, we’re talking about a lifetime of precious togetherness. Shouldn’t we come to the table with all our assets intact, not with some of them labeled “used goods” or “biological hazard”?

We’re so concerned about a scratch on a car, but we tend to forget about psychological scars and traumatic experiences that leave lasting marks on the minds of those who bear them. A shiny wheel is nowadays more important than a shiny, beautiful life, and being able to peel off the plastic wrap from a new car carries more bragging rights than being able to say you kept yourself whole for your marriage.