Opinion

All for Want of Morals

By JOHN GATHRIGHT

For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the enemy, all for want of care about a horseshoe nail. This verse of Benjamin Franklin's and the story of the great oak are two of my favorite moral allegories.

It is not the gale force winds, blasting blizzards, heavy snows or even fiery lightning bolts that fell the great oaks of the forest. It is the little bugs that nibble into the bark of trunks and slowly munch into the core, that topple great oaks with a big crash to the forest floor.

The moral is that it is not large catastrophes, or a lack of judgment in matters of dire consequence, but the failure to recognize or act on seemingly small, trivial or insignificant things that can ruin people, or even topple countries.

People around the world are asking themselves how Bill Clinton, an intelligent, convincing, decisive and powerful leader blessed with intuition and vision, could submit to such blatant lack of judgment as having an affair with Monica Lewinsky.

It is not his lack of leadership in world conflicts or macroeconomics, it is the missing nails of his moral character and the chronic flirtation bugs eating at his trunk that have toppled him.

Personally, I am fed up with the whole affair and its snowballing influence on America and the world as a whole. Flirtations gave birth to adulterous acts, which spawned lies and cover-ups, which led to accusations of misuse of presidential power. Impeachment could rob the world of a president with the talent and leadership abilities to help it during these perilous times. Meanwhile, the details of these sexual exploits are beamed into living rooms all over the world, showering both children and adults with often X-rated content. The court proceedings have even had a direct effect on Wall Street prices.

According to testimony by Monica Lewinsky, the whole ludicrous and idiotic affair started with eye contact and flirting. These planted the bugs that would later devour the president. It was because of the president's lack of an "honesty nail" that he lost the chance to rectify the situation quickly.

Even though I am sick of the whole affair and of splitting hairs over what does and doesn't constitute a crime, I don't think it is wise to forget what has happened. There is a great lesson here to be learned by world leaders and all people.

All for a wink, the president's morals were forgot. For want of morals, the president's credibility was lost, for want of credibility, the nation's trust was lost, for want of trust the presidency was lost, for want of a presidency, the country was lost. All for want of a country, global prosperity was lost.

Shukan ST: Oct. 2, 1998

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