Thursday, June 25, 2009

Lord, what fools these mortals be! ...

We are fools for putting up with strictures that require that man and woman behave in their private lives in ways that, apparently, a majority of men and women do not behave and, even more, do not want to behave specially in the face of certain, and unspecified, inducements.

I really don't want to see or read about the details of other peoples love affairs (except for a few really endearing ones, whether real or literary).

I feel really sorry for Governor Sanford (and his family, that is Sanford's real family not some mafia-sounding entity called The Family). I felt really sorry for John Edwards (and his family). Neither of these situations should have generated the kind of spectacle we are now so used to in this country.

It's even possible if we lived in an environment that didn't attempt to force private family relationships in ways that go against the human grain Sanford would never had committed such a deriliction of his duty to his position as Governor. Any responsibilities he has to his wife, to his children and to his God should mostly stay between those parties as long as there is no abuse involved. Setting up such impossible performance strictures on men and women, with scandal as the prize for what could either be a miss step or the following of one's heart (a verdict that is often decided many years after the event) could be compared to the former (I assume this is mostly behind us) blackmailing of secret homosexuals who held prominent positions, though I doubt that Sanford or his defenders have the wherewithal to see the similarity.

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