Regarding Congressman Anthony Weiner of New York:
In the first place, everyone must come to realize that there is no privacy any more, and that no one can be trusted with a secret. In fact, the only way a secret can be kept is if you tell absolutely no one. With all manner of technology in our lives, and with the opportunity to share via that technology, information becomes viral in seconds, and a life can be ruined by just the allegation of impropriety. Couple that with the fact that public displays of inappropriate behavior are widely accepted, an insatiable need for gossip about other people, the idea that moral decency and modesty are of another age, and the reality that people actually think they can do and say whatever they think or feel without consequences, and you get a situation like the one with Anthony Weiner, a man who believed he was immune from ridicule because of his political position. Mr. Weiner’s ego led him to believe that there were women out there who were interested in seeing his “junk” on twitter or whatever he used to create his own personal porn site. One can only surmise his motivation for doing this despite the risk of being found out only to become another in the long line of trusted public figures who have disappointed their constituents by behaving badly in public. Now it is possible that Mr. Weiner will have a public life again, because separate from this childish indiscretion, he really is a valuable player with much to offer in the way of a liberal agenda. So what could have possessed him to do what he did? I’m thinking the Crazy Child we all have within us, discounted the information from his moderating internal force we call our Adult. But why he would allow this to happen? Did he think the technology offered anonymity? Didn’t he know that once it’s out there, it can’t be erased and that everything can be traced back? Did he want to be exposed because of some deep seated issue he has with himself that demanded he be excoriated publically so as to be exonerated for some secret failing? Or was it just a stupid, thoughtless, egotistical macho idea of self promotion where he actually believed that what he had should be shared? And of course, he initially lied, believing that his personae was so well established that no one would doubt him. Well he was wrong. Know this. Somebody is always out there to get you and bring you down, especially if you are in the public eye or on your way up the ladder. I’m not being paranoid. You may not even know them, but they are the self appointed arbiters of good taste, people who don’t like you for a variety of reasons, or just people who like to gossip.
Modesty is a value that seems now to be held mostly by very pious people in our society of all faiths, and the elderly hold overs from an earlier generation where you didn’t have to be religious to believe that your body was a private matter. It is based on the idea that there is such a thing as privacy of body and behavior. Had Anthony Weiner and the rest of those who in the past have been held up for ridicule for their sexual escapades had any inkling of the concept of modesty, a bell would have gone off in their heads telling them that what they were about to do was not modest behavior.
So remember, if you’re going to show your “junk” to someone, make sure that that person is interesting in seeing it, and for the love of G od, do it in private, and do not put it on the internet or tweet it as a point of pride.
In the first place, everyone must come to realize that there is no privacy any more, and that no one can be trusted with a secret. In fact, the only way a secret can be kept is if you tell absolutely no one. With all manner of technology in our lives, and with the opportunity to share via that technology, information becomes viral in seconds, and a life can be ruined by just the allegation of impropriety. Couple that with the fact that public displays of inappropriate behavior are widely accepted, an insatiable need for gossip about other people, the idea that moral decency and modesty are of another age, and the reality that people actually think they can do and say whatever they think or feel without consequences, and you get a situation like the one with Anthony Weiner, a man who believed he was immune from ridicule because of his political position. Mr. Weiner’s ego led him to believe that there were women out there who were interested in seeing his “junk” on twitter or whatever he used to create his own personal porn site. One can only surmise his motivation for doing this despite the risk of being found out only to become another in the long line of trusted public figures who have disappointed their constituents by behaving badly in public. Now it is possible that Mr. Weiner will have a public life again, because separate from this childish indiscretion, he really is a valuable player with much to offer in the way of a liberal agenda. So what could have possessed him to do what he did? I’m thinking the Crazy Child we all have within us, discounted the information from his moderating internal force we call our Adult. But why he would allow this to happen? Did he think the technology offered anonymity? Didn’t he know that once it’s out there, it can’t be erased and that everything can be traced back? Did he want to be exposed because of some deep seated issue he has with himself that demanded he be excoriated publically so as to be exonerated for some secret failing? Or was it just a stupid, thoughtless, egotistical macho idea of self promotion where he actually believed that what he had should be shared? And of course, he initially lied, believing that his personae was so well established that no one would doubt him. Well he was wrong. Know this. Somebody is always out there to get you and bring you down, especially if you are in the public eye or on your way up the ladder. I’m not being paranoid. You may not even know them, but they are the self appointed arbiters of good taste, people who don’t like you for a variety of reasons, or just people who like to gossip.
Modesty is a value that seems now to be held mostly by very pious people in our society of all faiths, and the elderly hold overs from an earlier generation where you didn’t have to be religious to believe that your body was a private matter. It is based on the idea that there is such a thing as privacy of body and behavior. Had Anthony Weiner and the rest of those who in the past have been held up for ridicule for their sexual escapades had any inkling of the concept of modesty, a bell would have gone off in their heads telling them that what they were about to do was not modest behavior.
So remember, if you’re going to show your “junk” to someone, make sure that that person is interesting in seeing it, and for the love of G od, do it in private, and do not put it on the internet or tweet it as a point of pride.