March 20th, 2008One Step Too Far?
Once again the big news in America is a sex scandal involving a politician. It’s been said that if former-Governor Eliot Spitzer had reached for a bible rather than a high-priced prostitute, he might have been sufficiently warned about the consequences.
Two bits of wisdom from the Book of Proverbs come to mind:
“A prostitute is a deep pit; an adulterous woman is treacherous. She hides and waits like a robber, looking for another victim who will be unfaithful to his wife” — Proverbs 23:27-28
“For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps lay hold of hell.” — Proverbs 5:3-5
These words have fallen on deaf ears millions of times with men and women alike, but it seems as though today’s “morals” allow for such indulgences so long as it’s not someone we know, or someone elected to public office.
In Spitzer’s brief statement, he mentioned that he failed to live up to a standard he set for himself. However, if right and wrong is solely determined by an individual’s standards for themselves, then can anybody be guilty of anything? Prostitution is still an illegal practice in the United States, so is this woman, who clearly has lower personal standards, just as guilty as the former governor?
One would think so.
A Look In The Mirror Is In Order
What really grinds my gears, though, is the seemingly endless number of articles and pundits calling the man a hypocrite. Who are we to say anything about Spitzer when we ourselves are just as guilty of hypocrisy?
We watch TV shows laced with sex. We enjoy soft-core porn in pharmacies and soft drink commercials. We seek out hard-core activities in the murkiest corners of the internet. Entertainment columns are packed with gossip on today’s celebrities who engage in the child-making process without getting into committed relationships. We let our barely-teenage children dress in oh-so-revealing clothing. Our music is full of sexual innuendoes. If two people move in together they’re considered married by everyone they know. The list is quite exhaustive.
So how can we really make such a big deal out of a little sex romp between a government official and a high-class prostitute?
Society used to lay significant amounts of shame and guilt on anyone indulging in prostitution or other forms of affairs, but those days are long gone in most westernized nations. Now people wonder if perhaps the cultural view of prostitution and accompanying laws are outdated. Some go so far as to say it’s a private matter or that it is “just sex and nothing else.” But each time we excuse such behavior, we encourage others to turn their backs on their commitments and responsibilities.
Rather than pretending to be upset with the hypocritical actions of people like Spitzer, we should examine our own lives and see if these activities fall into our personal moralities. If we’re still outraged, perhaps it’s time to encourage media to scale back the incessant sexual displays that we see in almost every aspect of daily life.
There’s far more to this story than what we’ve been told…
When you start googling various combinations of “Spitzer”, “Silverstein” and “insurance fraud”, you find some very interesting connections that make you wonder whether the former governor was learning more than he was privy to.
Back on topic though, perhaps there’s a touch of jealousy when we see people becoming successful and getting everything they want, and then we watch them fall to earth with glee when they are busted for things the rest of us can only fantasize about.
Perhaps this is why Spitzer gets the 3rd degree and stripped of his title for illicit activities with a prostitute while Bush and his cronies get nothing for their illicit activities with the 6.5-billion humans on the Earth
I’ve heard about some of the connections between Spitzer and Silverstein over the last few weeks, but haven’t been able to verify the information, per se. When it comes to getting information from the net, I always try to get it validated by a few sources before calling it “plausible”