Yesterday NBC fired Matt Lauer on sexual harassment allegations. One could almost hear the collective gasp as the planet reacted to the news. This one, in some ways like Billy Cosby's case, stood out from the rest because of the image Matt had projected to the world of one who was trustworthy, safe, family-oriented. A few observations:
• The sense of betrayal felt by many indicates a longing for purity and trustworthiness
• The palpable shock evinced by the general population reveals a false hope
• Americans everywhere are quick to castigate those caught red-handed and slow to point the finger inward
To the first point, regardless of how relativistic we claim to be as a culture, there is still a general baseline expectation of sexual morality. Whose standard? Well, it seems that few voices in the mainstream conversation are able to deal with that subject cohesively. But that's a subject for a subsequent post. To use power to make sexual advances toward the opposite sex, is this not the way of nature? But for some reason we know instinctively that while it might not be 'wrong' for another species, it is unequivocally wrong for humans.
To the second point, our collective shock is two-faced. There is nothing new under the sun. The fact that these revelations ae so jarring should enlighten us that perhaps we have founded our hope on shifting sand. Politicians are corrupt? (On both sides!? Gasp…). Football players beat their girlfriends? Powerful men (and women) use their position as leverage to benefit themselves at the expense of others? Dictators mercilessly rape their nations? Priests abuse little boys? Mother nature turns on us and devastates lives? Bankers pocket millions at the risk of crippling the economy? There is evil at every level of society and there always will be. Tribalism, Mysticism, Modernism, Postmodernism, Integration? Socialism, Communism, Capitalism, Anarchy? The Scientific Method? The Liberal Arts? The Humanities? From where does my help come from? To continue to sit on the shore thinking that surely the next ship to come will rescue us from this island is to ignore thousands of years of history that have already answered the question of which vessel is sufficient to liberate us from the tormenting sands that imprison us.
And to the final point, my expectation, especially in the light of the proliferation of pornography and of how sexualized our society has become, is that sexual deviancy will increasingly become the norm. Excusable? No (see point #1). Expected, yes. I need to look no further than myself to find raging appetites that possess the power to destroy lives. My anger, deceitfulness, and so on have negative consequences every day, and their cumulative effect might just be incalculable. To stand and point the finger in judgement at the likes of Lauer would be the pinnacle of hypocrisy. Grieve for those affected, yes. The first to throw a stone? No. The pointing finger better first point inward.