McCain privacy and beyond

Rev. Debra Haffner in the Huffington Post gets it right when when she writes:

In my more than 30 years of counseling and educating adults about their sexuality, I know that there are many ways that couples create contracts, explicit as well as unspoken, about their understanding of monogamy. Although in a given year, most married couples are monogamous, the life time incidence of extramarital sex, depending on the study, ranges from one quarter to 50 percent. I’m guessing a study of politicians — who almost by definition are charismatic and powerful and often away from their spouses, all factors in who have affairs — would find much higher rates.

The point is that these are intensely private issues that should be addressed in the privacy of their own marriages, not in national newspapers. I do not know if John and Cindy McCain had an agreement that allows for outside romance under certain circumstances, but I do know that’s not my business. And I for sure know that these issues don’t belong on our front pages, when we should be debating the moral issues of the economy, the budget, and the war.

Of course, such privacy should extend to all sexual relationships, pre-marital, marital, extra-marital and post-marital. And it is the dankprofessor’s argument, which I have made throughout this blog, that said privacy should extend to sexual relationships between professors and students and even to sexual relationships between professors and administrators!

Haffner goes on to state-

Of course, I want to know about the candidates’ character, values, and positions. I want to know if any of them are or have taken money illegally or allowed their personal relationships, whether familial, romantic, or friendship, to cause them to make improper decisions.

Bravo. Such a basic and simple point. I would be so thrilled if such was applied to university life.

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Barry M. Dank aka the dankprofessor^TM
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