|
I'm getting really sick of Limbaugh and Drudge and the rest of them blaming the pages for this scandal. I know that teenagers are more responsible for their actions than are prepubescent victims of child abuse. But that's not why parents are horrified.
Congressional pages are supposed to be chosen from the best and the brightest of high school students. When proud parents send their teenagers to Washington, they send along all their hopes and dreams with their accomplished son or daughter. They realize that there is some temptation on being away from home, but they expect strict behavior codes of the pages and Congress members. They expect supervision of both groups. They don't send their honor student to Washington to cuddle with creepy old guys.
When they come home from Washington and start exchanging lurid e-mails and instant messages with a Congressman, it's not because they're bad. It's because they have been corrupted. No teenager would presume that he had that kind of access to a Congress member unless he was improperly granted that kind of access.
These pages were told that their reputations would be ruined if they ratted on Foley. That's what is happening now. Big mouths like Limbaugh and Drudge are putting the weight of an earth-shattering political scandal on the narrow shoulders of novices. These wide-eyed, hopeful, future political leaders are now being dragged down by the scandal. First, they got a dose of reality on experiencing the putrid side of Congressional excesses, and then when it is exposed, they have to take the blame.
Meanwhile, the broad shoulders of House leadership, the likes of Hastert, Boener, and the Congress itself, are too weak to bear even a little bit of the blame for the scandal.
As a parent, It is just horrible to hear Limbaugh and Drudge. I know that teenagers are susceptible to trouble. If I hear that my boy or girl is getting affectionate with a Congressman, I want him or her shipped home where I can protect them. I DON'T want it to be covered up, or kept a secret from me, while my child is still in harm's way.
|