 |
|
April 21, 2014
April 18, 2014
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Clarifying one of the greatest philosophical conundrums in theology
John Ericson: Trying hard to be 'positive' but never succeeding? Blame Your Brain
The Kosher Gourmet by Julie Rothman Almondy, flourless torta del re (Italian king's cake), has royal roots, is simple to make, . . . but devour it because it's simply delicious
April 14, 2014
Rabbi Dr Naftali Brawer: Passover frees us from the tyranny of time
Eric Schulzke: First degree: How America really recovered from a murder epidemic
Georgia Lee: When love is not enough: Teaching your kids about the realities of adult relationships
Gordon Pape: How you can tell if your financial adviser is setting you up for potential ruin
Dana Dovey: Up to 500,000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver disease. New Treatment Has Over 90% Success Rate
Justin Caba: Eating Watermelon Can Help Control High Blood Pressure
April 11, 2014
Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Silence is much more than golden
Susan Swann: How to value a child for who he is, not just what he does
Susan Scutti: A Simple Blood Test Might Soon Diagnose Cancer
Chris Weller: Have A Slow Metabolism? Let Science Speed It Up For You
April 9, 2014
Jonathan Tobin: Why Did Kerry Lie About Israeli Blame?
Samuel G. Freedman: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Jessica Ivins: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Matthew Mientka: How Beans, Peas, And Chickpeas Cleanse Bad Cholesterol and Lowers Risk of Heart Disease
April 8, 2014
Dana Dovey: Coffee Drinkers Rejoice! Your Cup Of Joe Can Prevent Death From Liver Disease
Chris Weller: Electric 'Thinking Cap' Puts Your Brain Power Into High Gear
April 4, 2014
Amy Peterson: A life of love: How to build lasting relationships with your children
John Ericson: Older Women: Save Your Heart, Prevent Stroke Don't Drink Diet
John Ericson: Why 50 million Americans will still have spring allergies after taking meds
Sarah Boesveld: Teacher keeps promise to mail thousands of former students letters written by their past selves
April 2, 2014
Dan Barry: Should South Carolina Jews be forced to maintain this chimney built by Germans serving the Nazis?
Frank Clayton: Get happy: 20 scientifically proven happiness activities
Susan Scutti: It's Genetic! Obesity and the 'Carb Breakdown' Gene
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Sept. 5, 2007
/ 24 Elul, 5767
Virtue, vice and Sen. Larry Craig
By
Cal Thomas
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | "Hypocrisy is the homage vice pays to virtue." — Francois duc de la Rochefoucauld, French epigrammatist (1613-1680)
Oh for the good old days when Jimmy Carter lusted only in his heart. Now deviancy's downward spiral has reached the level where a United States senator pleads guilty to cruising an airport men's room in search of an anonymous "quickie" and is forced to resign.
Sen. (until Sept. 30) Larry Craig of Idaho labored as a second-tier Republican member of Congress until news that he pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct became public. He then rocketed to first-tier status, though not for the reason any politician would wish. His sins, not his legislative skills, had found him out. He became fodder for late-night comedians and a problem for the self-righteous community, which hoped that Senate voters would not penalize Republicans come election time, if they expunged Craig from the Senate.
During the last election campaign, now-Speaker Nancy Pelosi charged that a "culture of corruption" exists in Washington. She was right. The political culture is corrupt and that corruption is not the exclusive property of Republicans, as anyone with a sense of even recent history knows. Like a virus that does not discriminate among those it seeks to infect, the culture of corruption threatens almost everyone who comes in contact with it. Even the most noble of freshmen members of Congress must eventually compromise when it comes to fund raising and pork barrel projects, if they want to remain in office. Sex gets our attention; waste, fraud and abuse of our tax dollars less so. That says something about us and about our scandalous priorities, even more than it does about those we elect to office.
| FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO INFLUENTIAL NEWSLETTER |
| Every weekday NewsAndOpinion.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". HUNDREDS of columnists and cartoonists regularly appear. Sign up for the daily update. It's free. Just click here. |
|
When the goal of a "public servant" is a never-ending political career and not doing what's best for the country, that is when whatever immune system he might have brought to Washington begins to break down. It is extremely difficult for a senator or house member to remain in Congress 20, 30 or more years and either not be corrupted, or become separated from the real world. Politicians can quickly get out of touch and embrace an entitlement mentality that, at the extreme, results in Oval Office shenanigans (Bill Clinton), or its trailer trash equivalent (Larry Craig and Sen. David Vitter, Louisiana Republican, whose name showed up on the D.C. Madam's client phone list), or fund-raisers who break the law (fugitive Norman Hsu, who raised lots of cash for Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and others.)
There is something else about the sexcapades — whether heterosexual or homosexual. The media bombard us with images of Hollywood tarts and other "alternative lifestyle" practitioners, who behave not only badly, but also recklessly. Every move they make; every breath they take, we are watching them. Virtue, like virginity, seems to be a relic of an ancient past, but these traits are, in fact, a rebuke to our corrupt present. The very condemnation that fell upon Larry Craig — from fellow senators to the most liberal editorial pages — affirms a standard that may no longer be practiced sufficiently in the public square, but still resonates in our private hearts.
That great theological nag named Paul speaks to this in his letter to the Romans when he writes of those who ignore G-d's requirements for humankind: "Although they know G-d's righteous decrees that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." (Romans 1:32)
Does that not fit our present state of mind and cultural condition? Don't liberal activists and their judicial enablers regularly tell us that to affirm an immutable standard, especially if it comes from G-d, violates church-state separation? But then we quickly hark back to the standard to hold even United States senators accountable.
In our reaction to Larry Craig's misdeeds, we affirm the standard. We also seek to be quickly rid of him because he serves as a reminder that the standard still exists and who among us does not fall short of it at some level?
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Cal Thomas is the author of, among others, The Wit and Wisdom of Cal Thomas Comment by clicking here.
Cal Thomas Archives
© 2006, Tribune Media Services, Inc.
|
|
Columnists
Toons
Lifestyles
|
