The Passengers Gossip as the Ship Sinks: An Open Letter
Well, it seems that the ONLY news anywhere and everywhere is that John Edwards had an affair two years ago. Why is this news? I understand why it is of interest to the far-right, as they have an unhealthy obsession with sexuality and are also looking for a distraction -- any distraction -- to shift the conversation away from the obvious: The Republican party has imploded under the weight of corruption and crime, leading directly to the White House.
Reputable journalists did right to ignore this non-story as long as they did. Tabloid gutter belongs in the in trash-dumps like the Enquirer. Yesterday, however, that all changed. Hounded by the far right and stalked by the Enquirer, John Edwards came forward to explain that which we have no business asking about.
Glass Houses and Stones
Did this man break the law in some way that I am not aware of? Did this man demand to know what you did in your bedroom or insist that private sexual acts are for the government to know? No. That kind of sexual, obsessive deviancy is how the right-wing functions.
John Edwards ran as a presidential candidate not on the platform of his bed, but on real and serious issues. Only people with little intelligence, moral insufficiency, and/or no ability to discuss anything of value would see this tabloid story as worthy of attention given the Constitutional crisis this country is drowning in.
Edwards was concerned about American jobs being shipped overseas, about health-care access for all Americans, about the right of American workers to be treated like human beings. That has not changed.
Under the best of circumstances, a marriage - any marriage - goes through difficulties. Throw in the death of a child and the cancer of a spouse and people get overwhelmed. Do I condone his affair? I have no right to even ask this question, let alone answer it.
Do you condone his affair? Because if you attempt to even answer this question, I think it only appropriate that you share with us your own sexual history, including slips such as this if you have any. You want to publicly demolish a man because of something private, legal, and something his wife had agreed to forgive him for? Then I want your sexual resume on the table.
I have no right to demand of someone that they share with me, or answer to me, issues that are private and legal for the same reason I would think it inappropriate for anyone to demand that of me. So if you are going to demand such answers and dig through someone's life for such private information, you better be able to defend your own life and behavior and you better be ready to make it public. What gives any of you the right to pass judgment on a private matter with no relation to you?
Simply put, I ask one question: have you ever cheated on a spouse or partner? If you want to pass judgment on Mr. Edwards, I think it only fair that you be willing to explain yourself and your "family values" qualifications in this regard.
High Crimes
But none of this is really the issue and never has been. The Edwards story is important because it can be stretched far and wide, to cover all other background noise which an uneducated populace can easily forget when a sensational and sleazy story is before them.
Both the left and the right, as well as the mainstream media have been talking about this private matter non-stop as though it were newsworthy. Edwards is not a public official, nor is he now running for public office now. Even if he were, it is a matter for him and his wife to resolve. So why is this news? Because when he was running for public office he did not want to share his private (legal) life with you? Do you have the right to even ask? Unless there is some illegal activity going on, what right do you have to know what a public figure does privately in their bedroom if it is not used as a political "family values" tool against citizens of this nation? Did Edwards try to pass the no cheating constitutional amendment and I simply missed it? I do recall the same-sex marriage ban amendment being shoved down our throats by people who were gay or criminal deviants. But I do not recall Edwards ever demanding to know how any of us lived and loved privately, nor did he insist on enforcing his view on how we should live and love.
Most importantly, why is actual criminal activity committed by officials currently in office NOT news 24/7 or the only thing wall to wall from blog to blog?
Here is what should be on the TV, radio, and in all newspapers and blogs 24/7:
1. Russia's attack on Georgia (which suggests that the US is no longer the lone super-power)
3. Evidence that the Anthrax terrorist attacks came from a US government lab (despite what we all believe about Dr. Ivin's alleged relationship to the attacks)
4. The fact that the Bush administration was more interested in blaming the Anthrax attacks on Al Qaeda and Iraq than in securing this nation (a pattern of criminal neglect that frankly warrants criminal charges)
5. The fact that Karl Rove was briefed that an Anthrax vaccine was making our soldiers sick and that he sought to control the damages of the "political problem" this information could pose, not remotely interested in addressing the health of our troops - the troops he claims to support.
6. The evidence that the Vice President wanted to kill Americans in order to frame Iran and start a war
Do you understand what I am saying? All of you, do you understand that any time wasted on poking around the bedroom of a man -- who has not committed any crime and is not in any political office or government position -- is time wasted in dealing with a serious domestic crisis of epic proportions that if not addressed urgently and corrected immediately will sink this nation?
What is enough to wake you from your negligent slumber? Because the rise of gas prices (and their manipulation), the depletion of the US treasury (some lost, some stolen, some moved to private sector), the record number of people losing their homes, are apparently not enough.
What is wrong with all of you on the right, left, center, sideways and all ways? Drop this Edwards story. Stop talking about it. Stop linking to it. Stop giving it attention. In any other time, I would sit quietly while those of you busy passing judgment engaged in your obsessive voyeuristic behavior. But now is not that time, not by a long shot.
A nation sinking cannot afford to play gotcha with something as unimportant as a vanilla sexual affair of a man not in any office of power and whose reputation is otherwise entirely solid. It is also wise to consider that his wife is ill with cancer and even basic respect for her feelings might be a reason to back off for people with any integrity. Or is everything for sale?
Instead, I urge you to put all of your energy into any of the seven pressing issues I have listed or any others that are equally as important. Our collective attention is far more urgently needed in other areas. I only listed seven, but as we all well know, there is far more known and even more that is still hidden from public view.
Do I need to go on or do you yet get it? Do you see the ship is sinking? If so, what are you doing to salvage it?
Follow Larisa Alexandrovna on Twitter: www.twitter.com/larisa_a
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Great points, Larissa. I'm guilty of letting this story overtake much more important thoughts. Thanks for finding a way to say this differently from other folks who say they just don't care what Edwards did.
Thank you! I find your position on this the best - don't ask questions and don't pass judgement unless you are ready to reveal your own history. But personally I would end your post right before the "High crimes" part. We don't need to remind people about wars and disasters to distract them from sadistic digging in somebody's pain and shame. It is not wrong because we should think about more important issues. It is just plain wrong.
Excellent Post....That says it all
It is amazing what Corporate Media puts on in order to distract for serious issues facing us!
EXACTLY! And, furthermore, why aren't we all out in the streets beating pots and pans or laying down in crosswalks all over the country essentially saying "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!"??
Right on Larissa. I Love your Work. Keep it going.
Hands down the BEST take on this entire fiasco.
Thank you so much for writing this. I'm DYING at the spectacle of 7 out of 13 featured blogs on the Politics page devoted to this trifle (yesterday it was 9 out of 14). And that's the Huffington Post. Imagine how this is being spun on conservative rags.
I've been living abroad now for four years and I can tell you that the rest of the world regards the U.S. in their response to this kind of thing as a bunch of idiots. So childish, infantile and just plain stupid.
You hit every mark with an absolute bulls-eye from the more pressing issues we should be dealing with to the hypocrisy of digging into somone's personal life while protecting our own privacy.
Thank you again. I'm reading everything you write from now on.
Larisa,
Another thanks for the post. Hopefully, one day soon, Americans will learn that they can actually "vote with their remote" and send the message that things like the alleged Edwards affair really don't matter. That when it comes down to the choice of what impacts my life, things like this don't matter. I'm more interested in the points you raise that indicate criminal behavior on the part of the government. The same government that impacts my standard of living through the costs of gas and groceries.
Keep up the good work!
Let's see... He was clearly fundraising at the time of the affair and organizing to make a run for the presidency of the greatest country on earth. He then paraded his wife around on the campaign trail (essentially exploiting her medical condition). Not to worry though, he just said to ABC, when he cheated on Elizabeth, she was in remission. "Oncologically correct" as Maureen Dowd laughingly described. Let's not forget to mention that he publicly stated in an interview with perky Katie Couric that adultery reflects on an individual's character to serve in office.
And, and, and he apparently used campaign funds to keep his sham videographing "friend" with him on his travels and who knows where the money came from that paid her off to keep her quiet. Still think this isn't "news"?!
And all this is all from a man who made his fortune on junk "science" lawsuits that have since been completely discredited. FYI, it was lawsuits about birth defects. Sadly, the fatherless child in this story has been neglected again and again in the "news" reporting.
Oh, and JE was still supposedly on the BO VP list and probably lined up to speak at the DNC convention. I can see why a liberal blogger would want us to simply drop the whole story. It's rather ugly.
You aren't getting it! She's talking to you fishsandwich. We have bigger fish to fry than a man who had an affair two years ago. It's people like you that she is addressing in this post. Who cares about John Edwards? Read the serious issues she listed in her post and than compare them to the John Edwards affair. We are taking the eyes off the ball at our own detriment. You say I can see why a liberal blogger would want us to simply drop the story. Well I can throw that back at you and say I see why a Republican would want us to go on and on about a meaningless story. It's distracts us from the real problems going on in this country. And that's what Larisa is talking about!
Oh, so we should ignore that the potential future VP or AG not only is lacking in integrity but quite possibly violated campaign finance laws? And, as discussed below, just because we observe, report, and comment on the JE story doesn't mean we're ignoring other, bigger stories. Some of us have more brain power than that. P.S. The bulk of the "issues" in the posters list are dubious at best. Anthrax as a government hoax/conspiracy? Killing Americans to get us into Iran. Puh-lease.
I can see it now: America sinks into another Depression, it's national budglet completely drained by war spending of the Bush Administration, the Earth on verge of becoming uninhabitable due to neglect by the Republicans----and, playing on Fox News 24 hours a day, the details of Edwards' affair.
Perhaps, we should appoint Kenneth Starr Special Prosecutor and spend 50 mill dollars to investigate what kind of sexual relations Edwards had with this woman.
"the Earth on verge of becoming uninhabitable due to neglect by the Republicans"
Um, come again? Perhaps you're referring to Kyoto. I seem to recall that failed in the Senate, although it was close, i.e., it lost by a vote of 99-0. LOL - "verge of unihabitable"? Have you had any problems yourself? You do realize that the "hockey stick" increase has essentially declined to a statistical insignificance? Guess you didn't hear about that part. Feel free to ride your tricycle to work and I'll feel free to not run you over with my SUV.
Thank you, Larisa; you're a very welcome breath of fresh air!
As a society, Americans are addicted to junk food --- whatever it's source: edible junk; spiritual junk; and the junk that's spewed non-stop on the airwaves. All I can say is God help us if we can't find a road of recovery from our addictions.
What really sets Sen. Obama apart from the rest of the pack is his insistence that there be "no drama" in his campaign; that means that "we will not stoop to that level just to win an election". Some say this is foolish of him. I say, BRAVO!
great post - it's just sad that you are preaching to the choir - the people that slant the elections could care less about this country as long as they get their story. They are like a bunch of rabid dogs.
the media sits in an ivory tower looking down, far down at mortal affairs, and happily picks stories with some small amusement to itself. They dine on a junk food diet, much like our neighbors.
And people like you and me ask: "is everything for sale?"
Yes, of course when Larry Craig was found in the bathroom doing the dirty deeds it was completely OK and quite funny. I personally thought he deserved everything because he set himself up as moral leader and laughed at what a dunce he was.
Is John Edwards really any different?
Sorry that is the price you pay when you don't just fail you fail MISERABLY to have high morals you talked about. I agree with the above poster that told you not to tell me how much multi-tasking I can do. This was the last of many articles I read here and reading it doesn't interfere with my ability to see the rest of the current agenda. Don't insult my intelligence telling me it will especially when you spent more time on writing this than I did scanning through your article.
Well said. I always get a kick out of these complaints about what America is supposedly "focusing" on as if the average American can't see the difference between, say the Edwards affair and many of the (very dubious) items on this blogger's list.
Larisa,
Thank you for your post.
I have never once bought one of those trash magazines at the supermarket. But no matter where I went on line, on tv, etc. the Edwards' affair was smack in the middle of my face. I turned off the TV, but Even here, at the Huffington Post, hard-pressed to find real news.
I am so concerned with getting my candidate elected this year coupled with dealing with the trauma of the Bush years coming back in flashbulb-style, cold harsh reality of a government derailed, ours & Iraqies lives lost, and the legacy that they leave behind that we must mop & apologize for.
My heart goes out to Elizabeth - they seem to have made their own reconciliations & that has to be good for them and their family & her health. She is an incredible human being.....and so she must believe him to be as well.....if they decided to put forth the enormous amount of work to save their marriage. Sometimes things hit rock bottom before they get wonderfully better in life. But that sure as hell is not our business when it comes to the Edwards.
I'm glad he was not running for President. Beyond that - I have no reason to judge his personal life.
What a pathetic feeding frenzy. Thank you so much for your fresh views.
Can we please get some REAL news coverage now - we have much bigger fish to fry.
Another self-righteous faker. You go through all that faux understanding. Let's pretend Edwards won the nomination. And McCain won the rethug nomination. Now Edwards' affair is revealed.
Are you so dense as to vote rethug because of the affair?
dog, preserve me from the self-annointed sef-righteous.
And we wonder why this nation is on the fast-track into the toilet. Gosh, we have a guy never even looks at another woman, but here we are anyway.
thank you for this column. you've no idea how much it means. and you are right on target.
Hear, hear! Thank you, Larisa.
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