That's Life: Please, Keep Political Affairs Private
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Yes, John Edwards has admitted he was unfaithful to his wife. "I made a serious error in judgment," he has said.
It is a transgression with which he and she have to deal.
But why oh why does just about every Jack and Jill feel obliged to pass judgment on Edwards?
"Well, he's not to be trusted as a politician if he would do something like this," some people say. Would you continue to trust your doctor, your accountant, your hairdresser to serve you well, if their personal life were held up to scrutiny and found to be less than idyllic?
"It's politics," a friend said to me of the reports of the latest scandal in the political world. And, of course, talk of President Clinton's infidelity is again being resurrected. And as in Clinton's case, body language interpreters are jumping into the mix. One has stated, among other things, that Edwards blinked his eyes a lot when he said he had ended the affair in 2006, which reveals he was lying.
Very astute analysis. Not!
Why not run a contest to discover just how long a person can go without blinking when standing under floodlights during a stressful situation?The media has been criticized for carrying such stories, but I think the blame must be shared with the public — the media is only pandering to the public's insatiable desire to know about politicians' and celebrities' sexual escapades.
In the days before politicians' personal lives were considered public property, men in the spotlight who romanced women other than their wives went unscathed by the media.
And did our country suffer because of their shenanigans? From what I read in history books, Thomas Jefferson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt did laudable jobs as president, despite being involved in extramarital affairs. And there is a long list of politicians who were known to be philanderers, and yet satisfactorily performed their duties.
It is essential that we examine the political beliefs of anyone who wishes to hold a high office in government. But they should be allowed to keep their sexual activities private. Reporters of any worth surely can unearth more inspiring stories than those that send them snooping into hotel rooms.
It is their loved ones to whom the transgressors must answer, begging forgiveness for the hurt they inflicted on them. And if they believe in a God, they will amend their lives.Whenever I hear people condemn a person who is guilty of immoral behavior, I think of the scripture reading that goes, "Let him who is without sin, cast the first stone."
Now that the Edwards scandal has been brought to our attention, let us, at least, give him a chance to clean up the mess he has created, without "staring" at him. It seems the decent thing to do.
