Another day, another scandal. New York Representative Anthony Weiner is the next to decide to take the easy road to fame by photographing his body parts and tweeting them to a 21-year-old college student. In the good old days we called this sexual harassment. Today we just call it misjudgment.
As a woman, I am disgusted. Anyone using their position to harass young women with porn shots of themselves should be fired. Further Weiner seems to be more obsessed with getting young girls to friend him on Facebook than he is in representing the country. In truth, he shouldn’t even have time for this type of stunt especially considering the state of our union.
The irony is that he does have time. Weiner is the perfect example of what the U.S. Congress has become – broken. People are driven to this type of behavior not because they have any terribly dysfunctional psychological problems or had a bad childhood but because Congress is such a mess there is nothing else to do.
Why else would someone with a perfect wife, perfect job, perfect social life – who wouldn’t want John Stewart as a close friend –need to send chiseled chest pictures to the pretty young masses. You can call it a mid-life crisis, but it pretty clear that since his job in Congress isn’t giving him satisfaction, he is trying to find it in other places.
Unfortunately, like most, instead of trying to fix the broken system, it is just easier to try to find fame. We are just living in this world of constant need popularity. It is our curse for producing shows like the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Only now, in a time of technology enabling instant adoration, you can become famous in a minute – just ask Dan the plumber.
I really think he is a product of the sad society we are raising in America. One where fame is more important than self, loyalty and honor. One where feeling good outweighs doing good. And apparently one where self-aggrandization is more important than constituent representation.
Unfortunately another hard knock for we Americans is that he is not the only Congressional member, republican or democrat, who has been so jaded that they felt it more essential to parade their private parts on the internet instead of giving up the private truth that our legislature is a mess. Does Christopher Lee (Ret-R), King of Craigslist ring any bells? Maybe there all so tired their just looking for better tie-less gigs.
I am not making any excuses for Weiner, Lee or any one else. They should get out of the Congressional business and on to something they obviously find more satisfying like baring their chests in public. After all who wouldn’t be tired of, on the one hand, endless bickering so that no work can be done and, on the other, solely being courted and controlled by lobbyists, they need an outlet.
Might I recommend golf? It is a much safer sport. The clothes cover you enough so only your spouse or partner is privy to body parts most people don’t want to see anyway. Further, walking the course will keep you fit and taking naked pictures of yourself is frowned upon.
The whole thing is just sad and quite frankly disturbing. Yes, Weiner should ask himself, “why do I need to behave in this manner” then figure out whatever he needs in life to make him whole – outside of Congress at this point because apparently he has other dreams. But the rest of us should probably be doing the same because although Weiner took the pictures, there were plenty of people out there, media included, more than happy to look at them.