A Few Good Men

Published @ The Jakarta Post http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/12/17/imo-view-good-man-and-husband.html 

If we define a good husband as a man who has only one woman, then US presidents Jefferson, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Clinton of are definitely not good husbands. They cheated their wives with extramarital affairs.

Jefferson had an affair with his slave; Roosevelt with Lucy Mercer, his wife’s secretary; Eisenhower with Kay Summersby, his driver-turned-secretary; Kennedy with Judith Campbell, Marilyn Monroe, Mimi Alford, you name it; and last but not least Clinton with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern, involving a cigar.

Americans, however, seem not to be bothered by this. Americans still adore these presidents, despite their sexual scandals.

Some might think that the acceptance results from liberal western culture, where people easily accept sexual freedom.

But, let us look to the east. Many Indonesians, including the younger generation, revere Sukarno, our founding father. He was a playboy, studded with affairs and married a lot of women. Gandhi might be the most honorable man on earth. He was described as a humble and holy man. He literally gave his life to his nation, India. But did you know he practiced sleeping with naked young women to test his restraint?

We accept the misconduct of these men, but why we don’t do the same with Aceng Fikri, the Garut regent, who lately made headlines after marrying a 17-year-old-girl and divorcing her four days later? We slammed Aceng as an immoral person.

The answer is clear. Aceng unfortunately is no Jack Kennedy — or Sukarno. Those leaders had personal achievements, such as inspiring people, reviving economies and founding nations. People tend to forgive their high libidos and predisposition to sexual activities. People turned a blind eye to their sexual adventures and gave them unconditional admiration.

Poor Aceng. People don’t know what Aceng has done for the sake of Garut’s people. He has no headline-grabbing accomplishment. Dodol Garut candy and Garut’s sheep are famous, but not because of Aceng.

Worse, Aceng has made Garut a national laughing stock. Aceng is nothing but a loser.

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