Saturday, May 03, 2003

trackback []

The Moral of WIlliam Bennett's Gambling Addiction The Washington Monthly reports that William Bennett (self-styled morality guru) has a major gambling problem. So we have the unpleasant notion of our favorite morality expert having a nasty little vice of his own. It gets worse though; he is quoted making the same ridiculous kind of "I usually win" claim so many small-time gamblers make: "Over 10 years, I'd say I've come out pretty close to even." We're not done yet. The final quote makes him seem pathetic and desparate, insinuating some kind of conspiracy theory on the part of "they": "You don't see what I walk away with," Bennett says. "They [casinos] don't want you to see it." A conspiracy theory which is not even internally consistent: why would the casinos mind if a prominent public figure were reported as coming pretty close to even? So what is the lesson here? That William Bennett is a hypocrite? Hardly. Anyone who believes in man's fallen nature could have predicted something along these lines. No, the lesson is that individuals should not portray themselves, or allow themselves to be portrayed as, the very embodiment of their virtuous causes. Much better to let a faceless organization serve as the focal point of the message. Alcoholics Anonymous seems like a good example--the set of princples and beliefs seem firmly tied to the organization, not to any single person. It's just too much to expect of any imperfect human being to live a public life and not, sooner or later, to make some mistake, some error of good judgement, that leads to charges of hypocrisy. The celebrity spokesperson could still have high-visibility identification with the cause and organization. They would just have to make sure to exercise the virtue of humility, and clearly state that the orginization is much more than any one person, and that no one person can be expected to embody, constantly and reliably, all the virtues espoused by the cause. 10:49:08 PM    comment []