Sex and Rex

Sex and Rex--"rex" as in royalty and power--continue to grab headlines and give us something to exploit, giggle at or be holier-than-thou about.

I refer to the vain John Edwards and the uninteresting looking blonde he slept with while his brilliant, popular wife Elizabeth was presumably at home dealing with breast cancer.

Am I angry at John for taking advantage? No. Am I angry at Elizabeth for forgiving her husband? No. Or at the woman who wanted sex with a handsome, powerful man? No. By me, they're all human and possessed of what human beings have when it comes to sex and power: desire, often lust, followed by fear, satisfaction or confusion afterward.

But I AM angry at the National Enquirer for exploiting it. And at ABC TV for succumbing to such fare. And at the internet gossips for turning it into silly videos and printed snippets blasted everywhere. Yes...and at myself for giving it more than a bah!humbug!outofmyface! response when I learned of it and decided to blog about it.

Of all sins of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, leering at and/or profiteering from the private lives and private sins of others is one of the worst. For me, it ranks second only to invading whole nations and claiming it as anything other than what it is: lust for profit, lust for resources, and/or lust for power. An unholier-than-thou combination, if ever there was one. For the latest proof, I suppose we could ask the poor and the dying in Georgia who're being bombed into new boundaries for lustful, power-hungry Russia right now.

Let's face it: willing sex and willing forgiveness seem a lot nicer in comparison.