The headlines are messy.\u00a0 Actually, it\u2019s more than the headlines that are so messy.<\/p>\n
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David Petraeus, who up until 2 weeks ago, was considered perhaps one of the nation\u2019s few, contemporary, national \u201cheroes,\u201d unfortunately instantly had his heroic status removed.\u00a0 Petraeus, the then current head of the Central Intelligence Agency \u2014 and former 4 star general \u2014 resigned his directorship of the CIA, citing an extramarital affair that was reportedly discovered via an FBI investigation.<\/p>\n
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Yes, the headlines are messy.\u00a0 The details are murky.\u00a0 There are questions and more questions as to the timeline of Petraeus\u2019s infidelity, additional military personnel involved, potential breach of classified information, disclosure to the White House and Congress, timing surrounding the election, and any impact on Petraeus\u2019s testimony regarding the 9\/11 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya.\u00a0 Friends, this blog will address none of the above.\u00a0 The reality is that none of the \u2018questions and more questions\u2019 are issues that at this time we can affirm or deny with certainty; hence, we will resist any temptation.\u00a0 Today I wish to instead focus on one reaction… actually a common reaction… a reaction we especially employ when we\u2019re fairly fond of the hero…<\/p>\n
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… such as Bill Clinton.\u00a0 Julia Roberts.\u00a0 Jerry Seinfeld.<\/p>\n
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All people at the \u201ctop of their game,\u201d so-to-speak.\u00a0 People who were at pinnacle points in their careers, and yet…<\/p>\n
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… they engaged in extramarital affairs.<\/p>\n
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The common reaction when we\u2019re fond of our \u201chero\u201d?<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s just about sex.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The reality is it\u2019s not<\/em><\/strong> \u201cjust about\u201d<\/em> sex; that\u2019s what we tend to say in order to minimize the extent of what it\u2019s actually all about.\u00a0 It\u2019s about a complete lapse of judgment.\u00a0 It\u2019s about emotion trumping commitment.\u00a0 It\u2019s about an ethical standard that is lesser or potentially nonexistent.\u00a0 It\u2019s often also about self.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now please hear no piling of shame upon any person.\u00a0 The truth is that each of us are capable of lapses of judgment and emotion trumping all; in fact, dare I suggest that I am not climbing out on any limb by disclosing that each of us have most likely fallen prey to some poor decision-making.\u00a0 I also suggest \u2014 wholeheartedly \u2014 that each of us, also, is not fully defined by that poor decision-making; each of us is capable of redemption and forgiveness…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n … which is equally available to Bill Clinton, Julia Roberts, and Jerry Seinfeld.\u00a0 It is available to David Petraeus.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n True, it still makes no sense.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How could a person so admired and decorated stoop so seemingly, unscrupulously low?\u00a0 Petraeus has a Ph.D.\u00a0 He was an assistant professor.\u00a0 He was confirmed unanimously at the CIA.\u00a0 In 2007, Time <\/em>magazine named him as one of their 4 runners up for \u201cPerson of the Year.\u201d\u00a0 He was named the second most influential American conservative by The Daily Telegraph<\/em> as well as their Man of the Year.\u00a0 In 2005, Petraeus was identified as one of America’s top leaders by U.S. News & World Report<\/em>.\u00a0 In 2008, Foreign Policy<\/em> and Prospect<\/em> magazines selected Petraeus as one of the world’s top 100 public intellectuals.\u00a0 The Static Line Association named him its 2008 Airborne Man of the Year.\u00a0 Der Spiegel<\/em> named him “America’s most respected soldier.”\u00a0 Newsweek<\/em> named him the 16th most powerful person in the world.\u00a0 He was also named as one of the “75 Best People in the World” in the October 2009 issue of Esquire.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Why would one man risk so much?\u00a0 … put so much on the line?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Because it\u2019s not about sex.\u00a0 It\u2019s about a lapse in judgment.\u00a0 If we compromise our ethical standards in one area, where else are we willing to compromise?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Recognizing that we are each in need of redemption and forgiveness…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Respectfully,<\/p>\n AR<\/p>\n The headlines are messy.\u00a0 Actually, it\u2019s more than the headlines that are so messy. David Petraeus, who up until 2 weeks ago, was considered perhaps one of the nation\u2019s few, contemporary, national \u201cheroes,\u201d unfortunately instantly had his heroic status removed.\u00a0 Petraeus, the then current head of the Central Intelligence Agency \u2014 and former 4 … <\/p>\n