Posted by Helen on: 03.13.2008 /
According to an article in TIME online
“I go forward with the belief, as others have said, that as human beings, our greatest glory consists not of never falling, but rising each time we fall,” Spitzer said. He has a long, steep climb ahead of him.
‘Fall’ seems like the wrong word here. It implies ‘mistake’ rather than deliberate knowing violation of the law and what Spitzer publically stood for.
I don’t understand what leads a person to risk their career and family this way.
I think he will be despised as Christian leaders who secretly engage in what they publically denounce are despised, once what they’re doing is found out.
Comment by: Traci Cumbay
1Ah, hypocrisy.
I think falls like this stem from the fact that people campaign hardest against their own worst impulses.
Comment by: Helen
2It often seems that way, Traci. Thanks for your comment.
Comment by: benjamin ady
3I do. I find it interesting that I feel more … contempt toward Ted Haggard than I do toward Spitzer. And I’m pretty sure that’s not about homosexual vs. heterosexual. I think it’s more about my more general feelings toward pastors and politicians.
Looks like addiction to me. And while I would in no way justify it, I have a sense of what addiction is about–the way in which one becomes driven to seek the substance of choice beyond all sense, beyond the point where it is destroying oneself and one’s life.
The really sad thing is the relative lack of help for addicts. I mean in the drug and alcohol addiction fields, for those who are severely addicted perhaps only 30% of them ever experience long term sobriety/recovery. In other words, at this point in time there’s little help/hope for the other 70%. This is profoundly sad.
I’m yotta stoked for Spitzer. Sucks for him, his wife, his children. But at least now he can start to address his problem, and … maybe he’ll be on of the 30%.
Comment by: karen
4I don’t know how relevant this is, but since this scandal broke I haven’t been able to stop thinking about a recent This American Life program all about testosterone.
Specifically, it talked about how men in highly visible roles - lawyers, actors, politicians - typically have very high testosterone levels. It doesn’t make them hyper-sexual or sex addicts, but it does seem to make them highly confident, brash, decisive and reckless - all qualities with good and bad repercussions.
This to me is the height of recklessness: An attorney renowned for prosecuting white-collar crime makes multiple financial transactions that he had to know would be scrutinized by banking authorities and the IRS! Yet apparently he’s persuaded himself that he’s somehow above the law, or that he’s so lucky that he won’t get caught. This is the same kind of thinking that all criminals have - and by the way, the jails are filled with men with high testosterone levels.
I’m not saying the hormones made him do it, but I am thinking there’s got to be some linkage.
The other thing that’s noteworthy about this case is how much focus has been on his wife’s two appearances at his side. She’s been about as controversial as he has.
Comment by: Helen
5Benjamin, yes, it sounds like addiction to me - addiction to the rush of engaging in secret illicit behavior.
I agree that if this means he gets help to get his life in balance that’s good that will come out of this.
Karen that’s interesting. Reckless certainly fits, as you said. I hadn’t heard anything about his wife.
Comment by: karen
6There’ve been a lot of articles and commentary about her decision to ’stand by her man’ at the podium on both occasions when he’s made public statements.
My friends at book club were all talking about it last night. Most agreed it is tough to criticize her since we don’t know anything about the circumstances of their marriage (maybe she knew he was using prostitutes and didn’t care?) and who knows what any woman would do in her shoes. Maybe she was just shell-shocked, or was doing it for her daughters’ sake?
One more thought about the testosterone: The program didn’t mention it, but I was thinking that a lot of powerful, high-profile pastors probably are high-testosterone types too. They’re getting up in front of an audience every week, like actors and lawyers do, and they’re also expected to be decisive and strong leaders. The fact is that we’ve seen some pretty reckless behavior from a few of them, too!
Comment by: benjamin ady
7Again I’m wondering how it is that this is so amazingly … delicious, in a sense–I mean people have an appetite for the story. It kind of hits some area of our emotional and psychological palate in such a way that we … sit up and pay attention and want to read about it, talk about it, etc.
The focus is on the particular story. We don’t see it moving to the larger stories of the pro’s and con’s of prostitution as an instituion, the pro’s and con’s of celebrity as an in institution. The problems of sex trafficking.
Or other big problems. 1 Billion people live without access to potable water. Every single one of them has a face and a story at least as compelling as Spitzer and his wife and the prostitute he hired. As do the 384 Iraqi civilians who were killed last week under American occupation.
Why do we have no appetite or less appetite for these stories?
Comment by: Helen
8Karen, I seem to remember Hillary stuck by Bill but she was also very angry with him.
Yes I expect some high-profile pastors are that type - as you say some of them have behaved rather recklessly. Actually this reminded me of what has happened to some pastors.
Benjamin I’ve known the name of Spitzer since he (appropriately and successfully) went after the parent company of where I used to work regarding unethical business practices. He had a negative effect on my retirement money since it was in their stock (it isn’t any longer) and he’s been discussed in my household. So I have some reason to be interested in news about him.
But I don’t think he’s more ‘important’ than people in need or suffering or dying around the world.
Comment by: Julie Marie
9all I can think of when I read this story is “how absolutely humiliating.” for both him and his wife. It would be worse, though, to be humiliated and alone.
Comment by: benjamin ady
10Helen,
I’m sorry about the neg. effect on your retirement money! I didn’t mean to criticize you for covering the story. I was just more curious about the way in which the story has become such a firestorm in the national media–and so many people I’ve talked to want to talk about it.
I remember when I was first married, I used to be a lot more … idealistic, and thought and said thinks like if my wife ever left me, I’d never give up on her, wait for her, pursue her, etc. I’ve gotten a little more … pragmatic since then, but I still think Spitzer’s wife is hella gutsy and … good, somehow, to stand with her husband. I don’t think she knew about it. I think she’s reeling from the shock, and probably in the beginning of the process of trying to figure out how to be both forgiving and tough at the same time. In a way it sucks worse for her than it does for him right now, because he’s got the horrible load of the secret off his shoulders, while she’s just assuming the horrible load of the betrayal she’s been unknowingly the victim of. No doubt she’s thinking about her wedding vows, and what they mean, and how to deal with that. I think standing with him was probably harder for her than *not* doing so would have been, and it demonstrates a certain strength–strength to choose to do the harder thing if you decide that’s the best thing to do.
Comment by: joe
11It is all so wearyingly familiar and repetitive. Big mouth, gets power, claims to sort out the country’s problems whilst at the same time exploiting the same things that he says he is fighting.
The exact same stuff that has been happening since the year dot.
My sympathy extends to this extent: if Jesus is to be believed, I have committed adultery many times. I am a broken person, struggling to hold my life together at times. Fortunately for me, I’m not doing anything illegal and am not in a position of power. But that doesn’t mean that my wife wouldn’t be ashamed if she knew what went on in my head.
Maybe if I had that much power I would also find myself in a similar position - one reason amongst many why I would never want it. My wife knows someone who started a graduate job on about $500k a year. And that is pretty embarrassing considering my (non) income. But maybe I wouldn’t cope. Maybe I’m the one in a protected position and maybe they’re the ones in danger.
Whilst we live in societies where the amount of money in your bank account and the power you yield are important, sadly, these things are always going to happen.
By the way, did you see what has happened to the right sidebar and what is linked to in the ‘edge’ of ‘conversation at the edge’? That made me smile.
Comment by: Helen
12Thanks for your comment, Julie Marie.
Benjamin, I wasn’t offended - I just wanted to explain that Spitzer’s name has come up a few times in our household so I was interested in this news.
I agree that his wife showed courage in standing with him and that whereas he’s at least free of the secret, she now has to deal with all the anger and betrayal.
Joe, maybe not having the money to hire expensive prostitutes protects you from doing that - but lots of people who do have money don’t do that. Some people seem less able to handle money and power than others.
I didn’t see what happened to the right sidebar and ‘edge’?
Comment by: benjamin ady
13Helen
the “edge” in “conversation at the edge” on the right side bar on the homepage links to a funny story about hannah montana and u2. I think wordpress is doing that. I mean it was earlier anyway. I’m using firefox. So if you’re in IE, and it’s not doing it, that may be why.
Wordpress seems to have done that over at Jacques a while back too, somewhere, I vagueely remember.
Comment by: Helen
14Thanks for explaining, Benjamin. I usually use Opera; I have IE7 open as well today and I’m not seeing that in either of them. Oh well.
I did Hillary’s name get linked somewhere on a blog today. I think it’s the preview software that’s doing it - the software that makes those previews of other sites pop-up when the mouse goes over a link to them.