A Few Thoughts on Spitzer

I am well aware my thoughts here beg to be challenged. I'm also aware this might not seem like a typical position on the moral scale for me to occupy. Read carefully.

Eliot Spitzer made a mistake. Giving someone money for sex is not my idea of a good moral pastime. And yes, it is awfully hypocritical for someone who had successfully prosecuted prostitution rings as the New York attorney general. Make no mistake, I believe what he did was wrong.

However, I believe the media and political circus that has forced his resignation demonstrates only our society's unwillingness to accept weakness. None of us are perfect. We all make mistakes. Both cliches have been used so often they've lost much of their meaning, and yet, they still ring true.

As someone holding public office, his actions are scrutinized more than yours or mine - following him in a helicopter is a bit excessive, isn't it? - and he does have a larger implied responsibility to maintain a certain level of morality and trust, but does that mean he has to be perfect? What about Clinton? Kennedy? The endless list of religious leaders in the last few years?

Again, I am not defending prostitution or the procurement of such services. However, I do believe we are imperfect and are inescapably so. Some mistakes are bigger than others, but all sin is equal in God's eyes. We only become righteous and wholly acceptable to God through salvation, not our own actions. Sin should not go unpunished, but it is not up to me or any other imperfect person to condemn. I think the virulent condemnations of Spitzer's actions show only our own insecurity at our inherent imperfection. Compassion and forgiveness are shouting to be heard over the clamour, but it's hard to tell whether anyone is listening.

(Photo Credit: S. Chernin/AP)