Grow Up Now!

Rep. Weiner's Disconnect by Jane Iddings, Blogger

 

 

Who Pulled the Plug?

 

 

 

 

 

The cascade of sexual/political or political/sexual escapades has sent us reeling.

Who's next in this Gallery of Rogues (Weiner, Lee, Edwards, Vitter, Ensign, Spitzer, Clinton, Gingrich, and the Frenchman, Strauss-Kahn)?

What's going on here?

• Are they stupid?
• Are they bad?
• Are they mentally ill?
• Are they totally unaware, clueless, unconscious?
• Are they immature?

What is disconnecting these men from rational thought and impulse control, these powerful, educated, well-spoken, successful men, used to being in the spotlight, to think that the spotlight is not on them when they have affairs and engage in online behavior that is certain to end their political careers and destroy their families?

Are they little boys engaging in magic think -- that they are invisible when they want to misbehave?

These are men who crave the spotlight -- they're politicians for God's sake! Do they think the spotlight magically turns off?

What is causing this disconnect?

Even more important, how are we citizens, we voters, to screen our politicians so we can elect mature people?

A place to start: so far not one woman politician is in the Gallery of Rogues.

Final note: The best caption in "Weinergate" was by Maureen Dowd in The New York Times: "Your Tweetin' Heart." Click here to read this excellent column (6/7/11).

 

The Face of Shame by Jane Iddings, Blogger

 

You have to see it: The Face of Shame.

An identical look on the faces of 6 sexual-political dawgs.

Click here for The New York Times article "That Look, That Weiner-Spitzer-Clinton Look" (6/7/2011).

When will the public be fed up and set a new standard for politicians?

When will these politicians grow up?

 

 

Strauss-Kahn is eloquent? by Jane Iddings, Blogger

 

Today in Manhattan the International Monetary Funds' former managing director and former likely French presidential candidate, Monsieur Dominique Strauss-Kahn, entered a plea of "not guilty" to various sexual assault charges.

Strauss-Kahn spoke only two words in court: Not guilty.

One of his lawyers, Benjamin Brafman, proudly announced that his client "pleaded not guilty and that this is a very eloquent, powerful statement that he made that denies the charges."

Eloquent? Powerful?

Sounds like the defense team doesn't have too many arrows in its quiver.

Click here to read more about it in The New York Times' article "Strauss-Kahn Pleads Not Guilty" by John Elignon (6/6/2011).

Rep. Weiner bit . . . well, the weiner by Jane Iddings, Blogger

 

 

Yet another sexual-political scandal.

Today Congressman Anthony D. Weiner admitted he had been having inappropriate online relationships with women he met online -- both before and during his one year marriage. He said the relationships consisted of tweets, sharing of inappropriate photos, and the like, but he never met any of the women in person.

It just take your breath away to try to figure out how he did this as recent as last week. Has he never heard of former Governor Elliott Spitzer, former Congressman Chris Lee, former U.S. Senator Ensign, former President Bill Clinton?

An article in The New York Times today questioned his maturity.

I guess so!

Yes, his behavior was immature, no question about it. His sexual immaturity caused a total disconnect with his thinking.

At the rate politicians are committing sexual-political suicide, we aren't going to have anyone left in Washington. Maybe that's not such a bad thing.

Just joking.

These scandals are getting old, really old. They're such a bummer that I have to change the subject to a totally unrelated but feel good topic: Tom Hanks. A mature man.

He's in London for the world premiere of his new movie "Larry Crowne." He and Julia Roberts play the lead roles.

Yes, we can look forward to turning our attention away from the sexual-political scandals of the day and enjoy two fine, mature actors in this new movie. Click here to read about it.

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger's new role: Newly-Found Dad, by Jane Iddings, Blogger

 

As is usually the case, the focus of the Schwarzenegger adultery scandal is on the perpetrator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and not the victim.

The result of this adultrous relationship is a young boy, a human being with feelings.

How is he feeling? Although his feelings must be very confused and very mixed about now, let's look at two possibilities.

• Worst scenario: The boy feels abandoned, neglected, unwanted, ashamed, and embarrassed. He never sees his newly-found dad except in the media and in movies.
  
• Best scenario: After he absorbs the initial shock, he thinks, "Wow, my newly-found dad is a movie star: The Terminator! He's a powerful politician! He's REALLY rich! And my newly-found half siblings are Kennedys. I have other relatives in Europe. Maybe my life is going to be great."

And it could be great, IF Schwarzenegger grows up and accepts his role as newly-found dad. He doesn't just pay child support, but steps up to the plate to be the dad this boy has never had.

Maria Shriver, Arnold, their four kids and the newly-found son/half-sibling could be part of an extended family. In America today families are composed of all kinds of people from different relationships. This is just another one that is becoming more the norm than the former norm of a nuclear family with mom, dad, and two kids.

Will Maria and Arnold have the maturity to welcome this extended family?

 

Schwarzenegger and Strauss-Kahn by Jane Iddings, Blogger

 

Nancy Gibbs wrote an excellent article in Time Magazine online about the recent sex scandals of former California Governor and movie star, Arnold Schwarzenneger, and the former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund and strong contender to be the next president of France, Dominique Strauss-Kahn: "Sex, Lies, Arrogance: What Makes Powerful Men Behave So Badly?" (May 19, 2011). Click here to read it.

I wrote a comment about the article.

Here it is:

"Powerfully written article, lacking only one more cause of these men's behavior: immaturity.

Part and parcel of becoming a fully mature human being includes the sexual maturity to have appropriate sex with truly consensual  partners; emotional maturity to control urges and emotions; intellectual maturity to see the consequences of behavior; and the social maturity to be sensitive to and empathetic about the people who become the victims.

These are little out-of-control boys masquerading as adults. The problem is that these little boys have the adult power they do.

It is time for them to grow up!"

The Immature Dominique Strauss-Kahn by Jane Iddings, Blogger

 

The New York Times is all over the case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn and with good reason.

In the event you haven't been reading the news, Monsieur Strauss-Kahn, a reputed sexual predator and yet Managing Director of the powerful International Monetary Fund, has (allegedly) once against forced himself upon a victim. This time a hotel room cleaner. He is being charged in New York on an array of violent, heinous sexual crimes. He is currently confined to his cell in the infamous Rikers Island jail instead of lounging in his $3,000 per night hotel suite where he allegedly victimized the hotel cleaner.

Maureen Dowd of The Times wrote a scathing column "Powerful and Primitive" (May 18, 2011). Be sure to read it.

The answer we must have is this: when will these over-the-top immature men like Strauss-Kahn grow up and stop victimizing women? My brother-in-law said it makes him ashamed to be a man when he reads about the behavior of these predators. That's decency, empathy, maturity.

Here are a few other articles from The Times, all chronicling the wealth, lavish life style, power, and arrogance of Strauss-Kahn.

• "Droit du Dirty Old Men" by Stephen Clarke (May 17, 2011)
• "I.M.F. Chief May Claim Consensual Sex as A Defense" by William Rashbaum (May 17, 2011)
• "Atop I.M.F., Contradiction and Energy" Landon Thomas Jr. and Steven Erlanger (May 17, 2011)

The Disappointing Arnold Schwarzenegger by Jane Iddings, Blogger

 

How many politicians are going to fall from grace -- in just one week?

Over the weekend it was France's Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the International Monetary Fund's Managing Director, charged with attempted rape and other heinous sex crimes. He had a good chance to become France's next president. Now it looks like his post with the IMF and his political career have rightfully ended.

And today we have the news that California's former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed the reason he and his wife Maria Shriver were divorcing is that he fathered a child outside their marriage 10 years ago, before he became governor. The mother is a member of their household.

While the focus is on the men and what they've done to their reputations and careers, scant attention is given to the women and the child -- and society at large -- who were the victims of these self-centered little boys masquerading in adult bodies.

Are these men:

• Stupid?
  
• Bad?
  
• Suffer from low consciousness?
  
• Or are they immature?

The kindest assessment is to say that these men are immature because that's the one thing they can fix. They can grow up. But they have to want to and neither of these men strikes me as people who want to do so.

Our goal as human beings is to become fully mature. The list of politicians who refuse to accept this responsibility to complete their maturation is astonishingly long. Those who have had this task set before them include President Bill Clinton, U.S. Senator Gary Hart, U.S. Congressman Chris Lee, U.S. Senator John Ensign, U.S. Congressman-former Speaker of the House-and now presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and others.

Will we continue to vote immature men into office? Isn't it part of our role as mature voters to look into the character and maturity of the candidates? Surely people who exhibit this level of sexual immaturity, are immature in other ways as well including intellectual and emotional immaturity. As such, they are not fit for office.

This immaturity isn't cute, it's not acceptable. It's irresponsible.

Grow up!

 

 

 

 

Rep. Joe Wilson (Again) by Jane Iddings, Blogger

  

    One More Thought About Rep. Joe Wilson's Remark

 

 

 

Can anything more be said about Rep. Joe Wilson's "You lie" remark?

Probably we've all heard more than enough here on this blog and elsewhere in the media about Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina shouting out "You lie" to President Obama during his health care address to a joint session of Congress.

But here's one more thought worth considering:

Today on NPR online there is an article posted by Audie Cornish entitled "Rep. Wilson's Admonishment a First for Congress." It caught my attention. Click here to read it.

What could be a "first" for Congress?

According to the article, Rep. Wilson is the "first member in the history of Congress to be formally chastised in a resolution for such action."

Why is this more than astonishing?

We're learning from this incident that the behavior of some Congressmen throughout history has been absolutely deplorable. Yet this is the first time Congress has taken action to chastise a member for his behavior?

Isn't that strange?

Apparently not to Minority Leader John Boehner. In the NPR article he is quoted as saying something to the effect that the American people didn't send politicians to Congress to talk about their behavior.

Really.

Well, if they aren't going to talk about their unprofessional, rude, inconsiderate -- in a word "immature" -- behavior, who is going to do so?

What do you think?

Isn't it time that the American public talks about politicians' behavior? Isn't it time that we conduct political campaigns in which we actually talk about the issues instead of smear campaigns and taking comments out of context? Isn't it time that we elect mature officials to represent us?

Yup, it's time.

Individual voters and groups such as the League of Women Voters and all other concerned political and civic groups AND the media need to seriously address the standards of behavior for our elected officials. We need mature men and women to represent us. Democracy depends on it.

Yup, it's time to grow up!

 

 

Immature Politician in the News Again by Jane Iddings, Blogger

Congress Says "Stop" to Rep. Joe Wilson!

 

 

 

Who, again, is Rep. Joe Wilson?

If you read the two prior blogs, you'll learn that Joe Wilson is the now infamous Congressman from South Carolina who yelled "You lie" at President Obama during his health care address to Congress.

How did Congress respond?

Today as reported in The New York Times online by Carl Hulse, Congress voted to formally rebuke Rep. Wilson for having "committed a breach of decorum and degraded the proceedings of their joint session to the discredit of the House." Click here to read the article.

What did Republican minority leader Boehner say that was funny and not so funny?

Just as Professor Julian E. Zelizer said in his CNN commentary yesterday -- and reported about in my prior blog -- this kind of uncivil, rude behavior is commonplace in Congress.

Rep. Boehner agrees. He said something about "policing such minor activity (minor as in calling the President of the United States a liar in a formal address to Congress) through a resolution could set a dangerous precedent."

How dangerous? "There has been behavior that has gone around here far more serious than this. My goodness, we could be doing this every day of the week."

Just think about it: Congress could spend all its time reprimanding its immature members.

What to do?

Let's give our immature Congressmen some good advice: "Yup, it's time to grow up."