Indifference to perjury and obstruction of justice implies indifference to the rule of law itself. I remember the first time I saw a societal shrug about marital betrayal. Watching my friend's humiliation and her children's anguish, I waited for our acquaintances to show their disapproval of her husband's shameful conduct. Yet marriage is an institution in which not only the immediate parties, but the entire community has a stake. It is, in fact, the bedrock social institution of our common life.
Marriage creates personal obligations that produce immense social benefits.
When spouses fail to take their obligations seriously, we all pick up the pieces.