Left: Senator John Ensign (R-Nevada). Right: Governor of South Carolina Mark Sanford.
The topic of family values is no longer personal; it has become an American political issue.
This has happened largely because conservative sectors of society grouped in the so-called “Christian right” — whose political expression is found mainly in the Republican Party — incorporated moral elements the heart of their political agenda with determination.
The objective, naturally, is to win support from vast sectors of the population for their political interests. Thus, in addition to proposing tax cuts, expansion by force, cuts in social expenditures, and reduction of union participation in political affairs, conservatives also propose prohibiting abortion, imposing religion in the schools, and giving more power to the churches and their family values — including, of course, the rejection of homosexuality.
These conservatives, who criticize Islamic “fundamentalism”, want to impose their own fundamentalism, eliminating the principle of separation of church and state. The majority of political conservatives profess “family values,” and many shout it out in every direction. They criticize divorce, and judge others based on these values. They maintain that said values are found in the Bible and they cite parts of said book to support the claim.
In reality, the interpretation of what is written in the Bible varies according to each person’s viewpoint or ideology.
The blunders of many of the moralists who shout about family values have struck me in recent weeks. The same day as Michael Jackson’s funeral, New York Congressman Peter King did not waste time firing heavy ammunition: he called Jackson a “pervert” and pedophile — charges that have never been proven in the late singer’s case. But a funnier case was that of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who on June 24 publicly acknowledged having had an affair… in Buenos Aires! No going to a nearby hotel or the next town over for Sanford. The gov’ner took a plane and traveled almost 5,000 miles to spend a few days with his lover. To do this, he left the state leaderless for five days, with no one in South Carolina aware of his whereabouts.
But perhaps the champion of family values is Nevada Senator John Ensign, who on June 16 acknowledged having had a year-long affair with one of his employees, the wife of a member of his work team and “family friend,” according to his own statements. Ensign, who also hired his lover’s son for a few months, is a member of the Promise Keepers Christian movement, which strives to strengthen the institution of marriage based on the principles of the Bible. This senator, married and father of three, was one of the many moralists who demanded the resignation of then-President Clinton when Clinton acknowledged having been involved with a White House intern. Ensign did not hesitate, either, when he demanded the resignation of his colleague, Idaho Senator Larry Craig, after Craig was arrested in the bathroom of an airport in 2007 for “lascivious acts”.
I think that Sanford and Ensign owe Michael Jackson a debt of gratitude — and King owes him an apology. Thanks to the timing of Jackson’s death the media and the public stopped focusing on the hypocrisy Sanford and Ensign. But surely these two discredited politicians will soon jump back into the fray to propagate “family values” using their experiences as a never-ending confession and mea culpa as they aim for political redemption.
Eduardo Stanley is a contributor to Impulso.
Photos from South Carolina Office of the Governor and Wikimedia Commons
