Friday, February 2, 2007
self-righteous or logical?
Gavin Newsom, the handsome and somewhat bon-vivant mayor of San Francisco, had a recently revealed affair with his campaign manager's wife. A large measure of Newsom's fame comes from his support of gay marriage - which might lead one to think that marriage matters to him and that, since generosity of spirit is generally a good thing, he has some strength of character, being willing to stand up for what he believes and all. I totally don't care what Mr Newsom does with his spare time or in his bedroom, yet I am sorry to find out that he's one of the "do as I say and don't bother me about what I do because it's really none of your concern" people. Heaven knows most of us are flawed and make loads of mistakes, sometimes big ones, but when a public person's principles are part of who they are publicly, how they conduct themselves has to be part of how we decide whether to support or vote for them, doesn't it? Doesn't that make sense? If I say I believe aerosol hair sprays are ruining the atmosphere and I want you to vote for me because I will work to eliminate aerosol hair sprays in order to improve the environment . . . and you discover that I use hair spray myself . . . then wouldn't it be reasonable if you conclude that I'm dishonest? You may choose to vote for me anyway, but if a public person makes fairness, kindness, morality, etc. part of what you get if you choose him/her, then it's relevant, isn't it? Seems logical to me. But a good friend accused me of self-righteousness when I made those observations to her. She doesn't see it as a fine example of irony that such an enthusiastic champion of gay marriage is now divorced and had an affair and extended a public apology to his paramour's husband, a presumably former good friend of his. Have the Kennedy and Clinton escapades, not to mention John Updike's novels, made it so adultery is no longer on the list of not-very-nice things to do? And tell me: Am I being self-righteous? Or am I recognizing inconsistency and/or hypocrisy and appreciating irony? (P.S. For more, read Eratosthenes and S.F. Gate on the subject.)
Labels: politics, reflections
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| posted by jau at 2:24 PM
| posted by jau at 2:24 PM
2 more:
That might hurt his re-election chances.
Of course, you are right about principles. But principles seem to matter less and less in our country.
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