Sex-capades in the News: Why Do We Care?

"Sex: the thing that takes up the least amount of time and causes the most amount of trouble." ~John Barrymore

Barrymore's comment brings up the question that we should be asking ourselves every time we hear of a public figure or celebrity who has “strayed.”

Why do we care about who is having sex with whom and why do we want all the salacious details that go with that information? How is it that our culture in the United States is so morally condemning and quick to point accusatory fingers at those in the public eye who make serious personal misjudgments? I’ve written about it and I still don’t get it. I wish I did understand this prurient interest we all seem to have. Other writers have done so also, some ad nauseum. It goes on and on. What’s the deal with our willingness to be voyeurs into another’s sex life?

The ongoing antics of Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's Prime Minister, and our own, Charlie Sheen, are definitely fodder for news junkies in the USA. The man is not alone in having his personal sex-capades scrutinized. Airing dirty laundry of this sort brings out the voyeur in most people. The past few years we have read about politicians who made headlines by cheating on their spouses and celebrities who are either "sex addicts" or just ordinary cheaters.

As for the politicians, the stories were messy and condemning, with public outcries for their resignations from political office. While as a journalist I understand why the public wants to read about the affairs and all the gory details, (we are all human after all), even as I write about it, I still see it as a tragic issue that should be between the people who are directly involved and adversely affected by the affairs. I also don’t think having extramarital sex automatically makes you unfit to hold office.

Were that the case, the world would have lost some very excellent leaders in the political arena. Men like Dwight Eisenhower, all the Kennedy men, and Bill Clinton. Hell, let’s go all the way back to men like Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great. Let’s even include women who were brilliant politicians, rulers and warriors such as Cleopatra, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Elizabeth I of Great Britain, and Catherine the Great. Whether male or female, their sex lives did not call into question their ability to get the job done. It had nothing to do with ability to lead then nor does it now.

The only reason the public should get involved is if taxpayer money has been spent for personal sexual favors or assignations. Then the politician or leader has overstepped the boundaries of decorum and done damage to the elected office. Whether we see an extramarital affair as morally reprehensible or not should not matter. Sexual immorality does not take away from one’s ability to do good for the public. Financial misconduct, such as using your office as a means for political favors or monetary gain, misuse of funds for personal pleasure; all that should make the public rightfully cry out for a swift resignation. Not sex for heaven’s sake!

I realize that there will be people who will disagree with this columnist and you are certainly entitled to your opinion and to express that opinion. But morality, barring some very unbreakable strict societal rules of conduct, (such as true sex deviancy or anything at all involving a child), has always seemed to be something that is uniquely individual. An anonymous 17th century quote about morality, as it referred to religious debates on life, states that view clearly.

“My morals may not be the same as yours, but they are just as valid.”

Then too there is the quote from the great and astute Roman orator Cicero:

“I have found that those who profess morality to be among the least moral of us all."

Perhaps it is time to take a step back from our own media voyeurism and think about what we are doing and why. Why, unless personally or monetarily affected should we care what two (or three or more) consenting adults do ? A misguided libido should not automatically make a person unfit for everything else.

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Two Day Magazine

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