[Grovenet] Family Values in Politics

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

David asked:

Those who honestly thought that Clinton did not deserve to be  
president because of his sexual activities outside of marriage should  
apply the same standard to the current crop of candidates.  Will they?

Do you trust someone who cheats on their spouse, or do you "expect to  
come out ahead on the scam"?

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I thought President Clinton deserved to be impeached, based on the evidence.
And it turned out to be right. He was impeached for lying under oath and
found guilty. Congress determined that his crime did not rise to the level
of removal from office, and he wasn't. I felt justice was served. 

There were plenty of people who didn't believe he should have been President
even if he had been faithful to Hillary. I don't know that one necessarily
leads to the other.

What I found funny about the "Doonesbury" strip was the obvious logical
"disconnect" that I've heard often from Republicans who claim their party is
somehow superior in the role of protecting "family values" above and beyond
all others while proving that they are merely human with all the frailties
and failures we humans must live with. 

An intelligent organization - family, community, society or a company doing
business - understands the issues of human failings and provides for checks
and balances on individual activities. That's why no responsible government
or business grants any individual too much power and control - not even the
CEO or President or the "head" of a household. 

We humans are a sack of emotions, not logical machines. We do things and
make choices based on our emotions first, and then justify those choices
using logic. Sometimes the attempt at logic is laughable, such as "...it
depends upon the definition of 'was'..." 

That's why authoritarian rule always fails in the end. 

I trust other people to the extent that I think they deserve it on the basis
of my experience with them, and I limit how much I trust them with to that
which I'm willing to lose if I'm wrong. If I make a mistake about someone I
trust I might be seriously hurt, emotionally, physically or financially, but
part of my agreement with myself is that I'll risk the injury by trusting
another. 

I couldn't have entered into marriage without such trust. I think that's why
most of us are saddened to hear about things like what happened to Hillary.
Any one of us who have trusted another could face that loss. 

Our culture is filled with stories of men and women who have suffered
emotionally after allowing themselves to become involved with someone who
cheats on their lover, and it's filled with stories of how those who cheated
others financially eventually found themselves the victims of cheating by
someone else. Those are morality tales designed to teach the folly of
"...expecting to come out ahead on the scam". 

I believe that even when someone apparently manages to succeed in cheating
someone else in any fashion are grievously wounding themselves. They are
building calluses on their souls that deny them the ability to be aware of
other or build close ties to others. They become more and more isolated from
the community with each transgression. Sometimes they try to make up for it
with outside shows of power or prestige, if they that have the resources,
but such displays don't replace the deep emotional relationship we humans
need to be healthy. 

Those who can't recognize their failing and who aren't able to sublimate
their loss often become despondent, angry and dangerous, as will any social
animal trapped in isolation. 

There's nothing so sad as being out in the cold and dark looking in at a
warm, comforting world but not being able to cross the threshold and join
the rest of mankind. Yet, many, many people are trapped in just that
situation. 

The challenge for the rest of us is to hold the door open for them without
embracing their dishonesty. I saw that process played out in President
Clinton's impeachment. I think we'd all be better off if President G.W. Bush
and V.P. Cheney experienced the same process. 

Ron D'Eau Claire