Honesty is a family value
John Ensign's admission yesterday that he had a long-running affair with a woman on his staff, the wife of one of his good friends, wouldn't be a big deal except for the H-factor.
H -- as in -- honesty. H -- as in -- hypocrisy.
Ensign, a Nevada Republican, has been an outspoken social conservative, a member of the evangelical Promise Keepers, and a scold defending the "sanctity" of marriage.
What does it mean that so many family-values conservatives have turned out to be a) gay, b) serial cheaters, or c) the patrons of prostitutes?
From Roman Catholic priests to Republican politicians to evangelical preachers, the list of finger-waggers exposed as hypocrites is too long to ignore.
Many traditionalists argue that the path of righteousness is just plain hard. The fact that people make human mistakes doesn't discredit the ideal.
But at the very least, this track record suggests the need for more compassion, more understanding of the frailties of the human heart -- and far less moral grandstanding.
In the end, honesty is a family value too. And hypocrisy -- in my book -- is one of the deadliest of sins...
posted by Brian Mann @ 6/17/2009 07:35:00 AM
5 Comments
5 Comments:
What I find the most amazing is our apparent ability to be surprised.
Proponents of family values who cheat on the spouses. Treasury Secretary who doesn't pay his taxes. Politicians who are against earmarks until they load bills with them. Athletes who speak out against steriods only to reveal later that they use them. Campaign funding funny business. The guy who helps write the tax law, but doesn't pay his taxes correctly. Those who rail against special interests and lobbyists, then climb into bed with them.
What do all of these people have in common? They don't feel that they have to follow the standards that they impose upon us.
We would do better to rely on the following two standards: 1) Never leave the important things up to those who are not. 2) Whenever you find yourself depending on someone for something, it's best to be prepared to be disappointed.
Please don't tell me that I am a cynic as that ship has already sailed.
John Ensign is a veterinarian. Is "Neuter and Spay the Only Way"?
See:
http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/06/17/john-ensign-promise-keeper/
As a kid, I rembember trying to figure out how the adult world worked, so I could do things the right way, i.e. the way adults do it. One conclusion I came to, was that people who worked for the village, town county, or state, (I never saw federal employees, so they didn't exist for me at that age), were part of the government that made the laws, and were therefore obligated because of their jobs, to obey all the laws. They were held at a higher standard than other people. Looking back, what an innocently child-like, pure and refreshing way I knew how adults who worked for the government had to act.
BRF: Kids have a much better sense of what is fair. Adults have a much better ability to rationalize and make excuses for bad behavior.
It is the inclination to proselytize and convert that gets people in trouble. "I have the truth. You must believe as I do." Very little in life is quite that black and white. The minute someone preaches--fill in the blank, marital faithfulness, abstinence, avoidance of illegal substances etc--they are setting themselves up for the "gotcha" effect. Life's irony.
Ellen
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