Petraeus affair irrelevant to quality of his leadership
American citizens have found a new scandal to get worked up over, this time in the uppity ranks of U.S. security forces. Ex-CIA agent and previous four-star general David Petraeus resigned last Friday after the unveiling of his extramarital affair with media reporter Paula Broadwell, an affair that Americans have become engrossed in over the course of the past few days. From mapping out timelines of the affair to digging into Broadwell’s personal background, the scandal seems to have diverted citizens’ attention away from most other national news.
In our country, the line between a public official’s professional and private life has always been particularly fuzzy, if it even exists. We pride ourselves in the fact that we are able to maintain a relatively transparent relationship with those of higher powers. Our awareness of an official’s personal matters has, perhaps, become a way for us to convince ourselves that the hierarchical tiers within our government aren’t as tall as they could be, that the checks and balances still work in our country. Many argue that a thorough view into an official’s personal life gives us a better understanding of how the individual performs as a leader.
But perhaps it’s time to question this train of logic. The history of the U.S. is littered with affairs and sex scandals, some involving questionable politicians, but many involving great leaders as well. Even Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and other notable people in history who have dramatically shaped our nation were involved in affairs and numerous personal scandals, but that did not make them any less great as leaders.
Our media’s desire to shine heavy lights on events like this is characteristic to our culture. This lies in sharp contrast to the practices in France, where the media and the citizens respectfully stay away from officials’ private lives and focus on what the individuals do publicly.
The attention to issues like Petraeus’s affair not only detracts from our own ability as citizens to focus on more important issues at present, but they also serve to detract from the productivity of our nation. If leaders are doing their jobs consistently well, it shouldn’t be our business to meddle in their personal business. Just as we expect the government to respect our personal privacy as citizens, we should do the same for officials when their mishaps are in no way relevant to us or to the nation. Some argue that the Petraeus affair is different in that it threatens our nation’s security, but detailed investigations have shown no evidence that the affair has put anything at risk.
It’s tragic that many leaders who may have had potential have been derailed by public response to sex scandals and affairs, and we should keep in mind that often, the public and private life must be regarded separately. Our focus should be on the well-being and the future of our country, not on the personal mistakes of those who lead it.