While appalled at the distasteful and immoral revelations brought to light in the current Stormy Daniels-Donald Trump criminal prosecution, we would, as a “sidebar,” metaphysically question society’s eternal designation of sexual misconduct as the most venal of the diverse cornucopia of reprehensible behavior.
In this context, it has been irrefutably demonstrated that the former President is guilty of the flagrant commission of an overabundance of immoral and illegal indiscretions. Many of the latter, objectively measured by their empirically, proximate harm are, inarguably, far more serious than an anti-societal act of adultery performed with a porn star. Such significantly impactful instances of his behavior include treason, inciting insurrection, criminal negligence during the pandemic, intentional theft of top secret government documents, historically egregious unconstitutional behavior in the nature of voter interference and gross and substantial violation of the emolument clause. To add icing to his oversized criminal cake, Trump has publically declared his intention, if elected, to be a dictator.
A moral conundrum, in our view, consists in the bizarre historical societal predilection in Western Civilization, to evaluate errant sexual behavior, albeit immoral, as the singularly paramount deplorable sin, or ultimate act of wrongdoing, as evident in the cited case, despite Trump’s plethora of more impactful, criminal transgressions. In reference to the criminal elements of the Stormy Daniels case, the “hush money” payments are alleged to have been made to silence the public disclosure of Trump’s immoral sexual congress with a “porn star,” just before an election.
Our thematic conundrum is illustrated by the thematic absence of “hush money” attempts to hide from voters any other of the many and various improper and felonious behavior of Trump’s 91 criminal indictments, and his treasonous and corrupt behavior, numerous enough to fill several dumpsters.
We would cite for its illustrative relevance, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel, “The Scarlet Letter” (1860). In the novel, the female protagonist, Hester Prynne, is punished for an unmarried act of sex, shunned by her Puritan Society and forced to shamefully wear the letter “A” (for adultery) for the rest of her life. She is otherwise portrayed as a moral and charitable woman, [In our nuanced view, Hawthorne was describing a purportedly religious society who, in their moral hubris, violated the Biblical admonitions for forgiveness and repentance]. Notwithstanding such observation, the relevant fact is that unsanctioned sexual behavior has eternally been portrayed as Man’s ultimate unforgivable sin, bar none.
Despite the many and various staggeringly impactful transgressions of Donald Trump, it appears to have been Trump’s circumspect fear of adverse publicity, singularly relating to his “Stormy Daniels” transgression, for which the legally proven criminal and arcane mode of payoff for silence was deemed necessary. As empirically demonstrated, in the contextual hierarchy of society, his errant act of sexual misconduct was again, populistically perceived as meriting singular attention, to the exclusion of his many other ubiquitous acts of effectively greater venality and harm.
Can it be that society is sufficiently shallow in character and principle, as to selectively ignore reprehensible acts of inhumane cruelty and pathological degradation and direct the beams of its populist searchlight on the more primitively religious and exotic subject of errant sexual behavior? Is the “North” in our sociological moral compass fixed in the magnetic direction of bedroom keyholes?
Adulterous sex, inarguably, constitutes a significant impediment to our societal order and, conceivably, a material breach of the Social Compact. One would assume, however, that a rational and utilitarian hierarchical classification of human wrongdoing would be construed, respectively, in accordance with criteria relating to the nature and quantity of its consequent, human impact. Our tentative conclusion is that sexual misconduct is more primitively and emotionally unsettling to Man, whose accepted civility requires the diligent restraint and attenuation of his own personal desires.
-p.