Just as the best-tasting foods are often the least healthy and the most exciting ventures carry the highest risk, the source of our greatest pleasure has the potential for the most damning consequences.

Why is it that the most intelligent mammal on the planet is the most likely to let fall into some quandary of the cock? From former president Bill Clinton’s cigar sex indignity to career-damaging sexual escapades of countless movie stars, men are notorious for stepping on their own dicks (so to speak).

These manly troubles usually involve couples and range from workplace scandals that can land one in the unemployment line to testosterone-fueled fits of jealous rage that can be much more damaging.

But modern man doesn’t necessarily need a partner in carnal crime to make a serious error in judgment. There are plenty of cases where a guy has muddled his future with absolutely no help at all.

Take the case of former Oklahoma Judge Donald D. Thompson. His (dis)honor gave new meaning to the term “hanging judge” when he concealed and operated a penis pump while presiding over trials. After 23 years of handing out sentences, Thompson himself went to trial for indecent exposure when the penile expansion device was heard by a court reporter. The reporter recalled hearing the same sound during the emotional testimony of a murdered toddler’s grandfather.

The average Joe is just as prone to sexual misconduct as a politician or superstar, but his transgressions are largely concealed in anonymity. Still, it is worth noting that possessing a penis comes with certain inherent responsibilities.

To understand the importance of being sexually accountable, one need only take a look at our downfalls during the last several decades and then imagine a world without some of the parameters that keep us in check.

As it is, AIDS—along with a host of other historic STDs—has robbed us of the sexual revolution that many of our parents were able to enjoy. “Make love, not war” and “Love the one you’re with” have become bygone rhetorical idioms rather than words to actually live by.

So where do we go from here? It would seem that we either address the future with a cautious eye or we won’t have much of a future in terms of sexual freedoms. And if we sacrifice our own future in our pleasure-seeking quests, what does tomorrow hold for our successors?

This is not to say that we can’t enjoy a long and full, sexually active life. But it would make sense to take a cue from the past and remain vigilant in the future.