What a morning to open the papers! Since we don't watch television in Reynoldsville, we get our news here from the print media. What of that New York governor? How is that public officials never seem to learn that prostitutes are a bad idea? Maybe memorizing (and passing a comprehension test) on the book of Proverbs should be required before an elected official can take office?
But what concerns me most about the prostitution is how widespread it seems to be. Spitzer was hardly the "Emperor Club's" (what a name!) only client. And what of the movie "Michael Clayton?" In that saga, to "celebrate" a billing milestone, one of the protagonists (the moral center of the movie, no less) and another lawyer friend purchase the services of two Eastern European "redheads." Visiting prostitutes is apparently so ordinary, so commonplace, that it's not worth a second thought. The "redheads" are treated entirely as objects, nameless, interchangeable and dehumanized parts. They're spoken of with utter callousness. No thought whatsoever is given to what life circumstances might have brought them to this pass or what their feelings might be or that they might despise what they are doing or that it might be wrong to use them in this way. And, of course, they must be dehumanized this way for the system to work. Moreover, when it becomes normal and everyday (a "right") to have call girls at your disposal, of course our public officials will want them too ... Didn't Oscar Wilde tell us that nature imitates art?
The one gratifying part of this sordid Spitzer debacle is that "Kristen," Spitzer's call girl, is coming across in the newspapers as a real human. More so than his wife ...
Meanwhile, the New York Times is full of economic meltdown news: See, for example, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/opinion/11herbert.html?ref=opinion. Are we at the beginning of a new Great Depression? Does the phrase "fiddling while Rome burns" come to mind as we watch our elected officials spending $4,000 plus dollars for a few hours with a prostitute, while millions of two-income families are earning less than $40,00 a year? Am I wrong to be outraged about all this? Is none of it "a big deal?"
2 comments:
No, Diane, you are not wrong to be outraged by it. There is a certain narcissistic tendency fostered by the political system among politicians, and this is probably related to what Spitzer did.
It is also interesting that this news came only hours after Spitzer passionately defended his extreme pro-abortion position. Abortion has historically been supported by men who regard women as sexual playthings here for their enjoyment.
Thanks for the two comments so far Bill!
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