Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund and until last Sunday a likely presidential contender against Nicolas Sarkozy in next years elections in France, is the latest example of the Ill never get caught mentality.
He joins US presidential hopeful Gary Hart, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Israeli President Moshe Katzav and many others who confidently committed varying degrees of sexual offense without fear of discovery or consequence.
Did they imagine that some power divinely granted them an absolute, impervious immunity? Well, they imagined wrong.
To be sure, the charge of rape against Strauss-Kahn is qualitatively different from the behavior of, say, Gary Hart or Eliot Spitzer. Criminal coercion is worse than voluntary sleaze, however reprehensible. Nonetheless, the mentality of the public-figure offender is the same.
In a recent interview with the left-wing daily Liberation, Strauss-Kahn admitted he might face three particular difficulties if he ran for president in France. One of them was his moral laxity. How prescient. As he sits in a New York jail on charges of sexual assault, some French Jews fear a backlash in their own country.
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In 1987, Hart dared reporters to catch him being unfaithful. It was a taunt he obviously didnt take seriously but the Miami Herald did. Another political career bit the dust.
Public figures, whether politicians or celebrities, exist in a spotlight. It goes with the job, wherever they go. No matter how hard they try to hide like former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger or Rev. Jesse Jackson, each of whom fathered a child out of wedlock the truth will come out one way or another, sooner or later. These people should be held accountable to the same standard as everyone else. Celebrityhood or political power bestows no special rights, reputation or moral dispensation.
Not to mention, we all exist in a spotlight. All our deeds are recorded, notes Ethics of the Fathers. On the divine scale none of us escapes scrutiny but this is relevant to the likes of Strauss-Kahn only when it is too late.
Strauss-Kahn, a proud Jew with strong ties to Israel, enhanced the reputation of Jewry in France. Flagrantly disregarding the responsibilities that come with this status, Strauss-Kahns misbehavior damaged much more than his own reputation. He intensified the already difficult condition of Jewry in France.
And think of the much greater good he could have accomplished. He would have been good for French Jews and Jews throughout the world had he toppled Sarkozy. He threw this away.
Now, reports suggest that Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front Party, will profit from Strauss-Kahns alleged serial immorality.
Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.
This is not merely a nice poetic rhyme. Its a warning one that Strauss-Kahn did not heed, to his and our detriment.
Copyright © 2011 by the Intermountain Jewish News
