I can’t say I have followed the Matt Gaetz story. I seldom see it on PBS, BBC, or AP unless it intersects with something with broader ramifications, such as medical marijuana. But tantalizing details keep showing up in a variety of “popular” news media outlets, both left and right, as some sort of unfolding soap opera entertaining with salacious teases.
I will not comment on his political activities and opinions or the believability of his denials of anything illegal in paying for sex with a number of women, allegedly including a 17 year old taken across state lines. From my perspective all the attention focused here avoids what to me is obvious from his own words. This man has no moral compass. He has acknowledged a history that would otherwise have been labeled as promiscuous, and he has dismissed any problem with that by saying that he’s not a monk and wasn’t married.
Even though I am a retired Christian pastor, my concern about the lack of a moral compass is not about sexual prudishness or adhering to the sort of biblical ethics I taught all my career. No, I am concerned for what seems a crass disregard for the dignity and full human value of women and the wonder of sexuality in healthy human relationships. I do not intend to single out Mr. Gaetz nor to rant about “the media.” Rather, I am dismayed that such behavior and attitudes seem to not only be accepted but even expected among men in many walks of life who are climbing the ambitious ladder of power, or even think they have arrived at the pinnacle of power in their realm.
No comments:
Post a Comment