Sexygate and the new amendment.
When out of the Paula Jones jack-in-the-box Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp the Weasel popped out my first reaction was probably influenced by my very long permanence in Europe: Who cares about Clinton’s sex life? And when will my dear compatriots start praying a little less, making love a little more, and giving lawyers less opportunity to make millions by dragging each other into court on the slightest pretext?
It didn’t take long to see that this affair is apparently of much more interest to the American media than it is to the American public. If nothing else of any good comes out this story at least I’ve had good cause to renew my faith in my fellow countrymen. From what one is able to gather from the numerous polls and surveys, the great majority of Americans don’t consider it any of their business what Clinton does in the intimacy of his private life. They would like this story to be over fast, and for their President to be able to get back to work and dedicate his full attention to the matters for which he was elected.
And I hardly see any of the cynicism that was first suggested in some of the European press, i.e., that the economy is doing well, so who gives a hoot about Clinton’s sex life. What I see, rather, is a healthy refusal to moralize about the private behavior of others, even if that "other" happens to be their president. I like that. Bravi. It seems to suggest a certain maturity in the general public, even if the media seems to insist that Americans persist in a sort moral bigotry.
When all of this is over, I would like to propose a new amendment to the constitution. The Fifth Amendment doesn’t do the trick because it presupposes guilt. The new amendment would dictate that any adult called to testify under oath facts regarding his or her intimate behavior behind close doors with another consenting adult is obliged not to answer. Not because he or she has done something "wrong" but because it’s the question in itself which is illegitimate. Barring, of course, crimes of violence or of any other nature, what two consenting adults do in private of their own will is their business and theirs alone.
February 1998
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