Family Values

It has been another busy week at work, so I'm going to try to catch up on some of the things that I've been meaning to post over the past few days. The big news stories of the week—before Michael Jackson's untimely death—were the adventures and antics of Mark Sanford, the Republican governor of South Carolina. After a "busy legislative session" he went missing and no one knew exactly where he went. This should have been the first clue that something was seriously wrong. If I disappeared after every busy week at work, well, I would never be found because every week is busy. And I would probably also be fired if I stopped showing up to work. But that is beside the point. Sanford disappeared and at first it was believed that he went for a hike, but as it turned out, that was a lie. He was, in fact, in Argentina visiting his mistress. Apparently he has known her for eight years and the two have been having an affair for the past year. Whenever something like this happens the questions of family values and the sanctity of marriage immediately come up.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a democrat—as if there were any question. However I will be the first to admit that infidelity is not a problem only of the republican party. There have been quite a few democrats who have been caught with their pants down with someone who was not their spouse. In general I like to think that a politician's personal life and private escapades are irrelevant to their public service. I couldn't care less what they do in their bedrooms. What I care about is how they stand on the issues and what they do or are attempting to do to improve the lives of the people in their city, state, or nation.

So why is there such an uproar and outrage over Sanford's and other republicans' trysts? I think that it has to do with hypocrisy. This is supposed to be the party of morality, the party that preaches family values, the party that tries to protect the sanctity of marriage. So when these sanctimonious politicians fall from their pulpits, their hypocrisy is revealed in the brightest spotlight. Sanford is opposed civil unions and domestic partnership benefits, and when asked to address the issue of gay marriage he said that marriage is between one man and one woman. However in his personal life marriage is apparently between one man, one woman, and one mistress. For many people, monogamous and committed gay couples especially, Sanford's holier-than-thou preaching and actual actions are morally outrageous. This is someone who is denying an entire community of their rights while at the same time he abusing the very rights that he is fortunate to have. The cheating is bad enough, but the hypocrisy is worse.

Current mood: relaxed
Current music: Maroon 5 "If I Never See Your Face Again"