While we’re on the subject of transparency, here’s another example: David Petraeus, the director of the CIA, resigned after an investigation uncovered that he had been involved in an extramarital affair.
Who gives a damn if Patraeus was having an affair? I don’t know enough about him to know if he was a good or bad CIA director, but I don’t think who he was sleeping with has any bearing on that. If everyone acknowledged their own sexual history instead of trying to bury it and feign piety this wouldn’t be an issue.
It was said that an affair makes him susceptible to blackmail. It wouldn’t if this had been in the open from the beginning.
There’s been some odd comments about “lack of judgment”. Really? He was the director of the CIA, and he had an long-term affair with a person he had a close relationship with. That says quite a lot about the quality of his judgment, in my opinion. As director of the CIA he could be banging three new women every weekend. THAT would show a lack of judgment. This? The only major issue is that he didn’t clear it with his wife first. And I can sorta forgive him for that – he got married 37 years ago, back in the sexual dark ages. Same way you can forgive a 57-year-old gay dude for being in the closet.
In a more sane society he’d just introduce the world to his mistress and go back to work. In a transparent society he wouldn’t even have to do that. Instead he’s forced to retire. /sigh