Power and Women

Recently Tiger Woods is in the news, caught having affair(s?) despite his very attractive wife and three small children. Tonight the TV series Monk ended revealing the judge slept with a student and had a child with her (and then killed her, the nurse who delivered her and the doctor who tried to blackmail them). This got me thinking about strength of character and public and private morality and it's reflection in our marriages and commitments to each other.

It seems that some people are attracted to celebrity no mater what, and will throw themselves at celebrity, or a politician, even one known to be married with children. Temptation when dragged frequently enough in front of many, (perhaps most), people is of course hard to resist, so avoiding opportunities for temptation becomes necessary, but that's not really possible in a political life, or a life of celebrity. Perhaps it's natural for people in positions of power to give in to them from time to time. I'm not saying that that makes it right, but it is very human and understandable. It might be more disturbing to learn of a person who is not tempted by normal urges, after all what deeper desires do some among us have? Perhaps refraining from obvious masks not innocence or morality, but the temptaions of unnatural devils.

Generally adults are allowed to do what they want with each other, and except for the special situation where people are in inequitable positions of power any such relationships are tolerated. But is this really good? Clearly in a situation like that of the President and Mrs. Clinton's where the marriage is based on power more than on sex, whatever affairs the other party engages in are unlikely to affect their own marriage, no matter their protestations to the contrary. Also clearly someone in Mrs. Lewinsky's position should never have been under any illusions that she meant more to Mr. Clinton than a pleasant diversion and stress relief. After all is having a sexually frustrated man with his finger on the nuclear button really a good idea?

In all seriousness marriage should mean an exclusive commitment of love between two people, but many fail to live up to that ideal. It's hard to see how the non-cheating member of a relationship can honestly get over such a betrayal, but then perhaps many others don't regard marriage that way. I'm not being judgmental, but am simply asking about human nature, and wondering if we're asking too much of people like politicians and celebrities to expect their personal lives to match their ideals. Of course it is strength of character we are asking for in public office. So maybe for them it's not.