coquetterie

To some extent, watching the news or reading it in America falls into the category of info-tainment. Celebrities routinely make headlines when their lives spiral out of control. Salacious details are served on a platter to eager, intrusive, viewers. In this last few years, it has grown by leaps and bounds and I find it disturbing.

When former President Clinton had an affair, women vented their outrage at Hillary. How can you stand by your cheating, lying husband that broke and/or abandoned your wedding vows. At the same time, she was offered support by these same women. Some experienced, first hand, her pain. Others, like myself, couldn’t imagine the pain and strife this caused both for her personally and her family.

Let us fast forward ten years later, another Democrat is in the hot seat. This time Elizabeth Edwards is being roasted in news articles and blogs. This post isn’t about the political implications of her decision, rather the intrusion she faced into her private and personal lives.

First let me pose the question: Do we expect our politicians to be SO squeaky clean that nary a bubble of suds is left on them? Living up to this standard is impossible. Everyone has skeletons of some sort in the closet. I’m much more likely to support a candidate with admitted foibles than one that is squeaky clean and, in my opinion, to good to be true.

I didn’t agree with the platform of Mr. Edwards. I found Elizabeth Edwards incredibly courageous to face her battle with cancer while campaigning for her husband. The tragedy that they both have suffered in the past few years has been great, yet, they persevered.

When the scandal developed in the tabloids, the main stream media ignored it. I’m certain they thought there was nothing to it. However, as it became clearer that there was truth to the matter, they pounced on it. As I said, I will not discuss the political implications. I’m more concerned about privacy issues.

Mrs. Edwards clearly knew about the affair. She asked that close friends and family not speak about it. She and Mr. Edwards, worked through this trauma together, hopefully resulting in a stronger bond. If this is her decision, who are we to judge her for it?

On a personal level, why does the public need to know about the transgressions of any marriage? If she chose to keep his transgressions close, would any of us blame her? It’s none of our business if he husband had slept with 100 women. It’s her personal choice.

At a time when a woman is facing an eventual terminal battle with cancer, her husband confesses to an extra-marital affair. If this happened to you, would you want to share your pain with the world? Or, would you curl up with close friends and family, and try to sort everything out?

At the end of the day, what people decide to do on issues that effect their personal lives, is none of my (or anyone’s) damned business. Everyone makes mistakes and they have the right to atone for them as needed or necessary. John Edwards is not answerable to the citizens of America for his transgressions; he needs only to answer to Mrs. Edwards and their families. Mrs. Edwards has a difficult journey ahead of her. It’s only made worse that something so painful, at such a time, has been made public against her consent.

Technorati Tags: politics, politicians, elizabeth edwards, tabloid journalism, intrusive politics & journalism

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