Donovan
beer, I want beer
Currently my state is having a grand old time with the increasingly sordid story of Eric Massa, freshman democratic congressman who just resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment by male staffers. It's hard to guage what the national response to the story is because the guy has a strong local connection here in Western NY, but he's made the story huge by himself going on Glenn Beck and Larry King and ranting about how his groping was all just horseplay.
There are multiple sides to this, of course. The main charges of sexual harrassment are valid concerns, but would they be national news if it wasn't guys he was accused of fondling? Also, if the guy has quit in the face of all this, why do they continue to investigate if not for reasons of personal attack? Are people pissed that a possibly gay man set himself up as a married straight guy? Like that's never ever happened before?
I find it interesting that we try to call ourselves a free and tolerant nation, and yet we hold our elected officials up to such exacting standards that they inevitably fall short. Or maybe it's that the people who are honest about their lives and personal proclivities never get far enough to be elected, and only the liars are successful in that regard. That's how we end up with an electorate full of duplicitous bastards, because when they smile at us we like the way they fib...
There are multiple sides to this, of course. The main charges of sexual harrassment are valid concerns, but would they be national news if it wasn't guys he was accused of fondling? Also, if the guy has quit in the face of all this, why do they continue to investigate if not for reasons of personal attack? Are people pissed that a possibly gay man set himself up as a married straight guy? Like that's never ever happened before?
I find it interesting that we try to call ourselves a free and tolerant nation, and yet we hold our elected officials up to such exacting standards that they inevitably fall short. Or maybe it's that the people who are honest about their lives and personal proclivities never get far enough to be elected, and only the liars are successful in that regard. That's how we end up with an electorate full of duplicitous bastards, because when they smile at us we like the way they fib...
