Puritanism’s vestiges haunt U.S.

Tuesday, October 20, 1998

Puritanism’s vestiges haunt U.S.

MORALITY: Nation’s reaction to Clinton sex scandal shows
reliance on unnatural ideals

I listened to most of the congressional hearings concerning the
president’s impeachment. If anything can drive a person away from
politics, then it is witnessing its infernal machinery at work.

The hearing was a three-hour plus carnival of absurdity filled
with blustering speeches and jeering outrage. It was, however, a
highly instructive experience. I was privy to one of the most
powerful political and social forces of America: puritanical
morality. Republican politicians repeatedly quoted "scripture " and
invoked the name of "God ".

Self-righteous disdain oozed from their lips as they discussed
Clinton’s debauchery. Apparently, Clinton’s crimes were against
"God " as well as the state. Many political analysts have stated
that these politicians are merely playing political games.
Nonetheless, that opinion does not completely describe this
particular political and cultural phenomenon.

These politicians were elected for their allegiance to
puritanical, "America needs God " values. People voted for them
because they wanted someone who would bluster about "God " and
morality. The people created this freak-show.

More importantly, this current political circus reveals what is
archaic and ignorant about American morality. Clinton’s sexual
improprieties and the subsequent moral and political backlash are a
stark revelation of America’s deep-seated puritanical tendencies
and anxieties. Clinton’s penile misadventures and our collective
fascination and revulsion are the product of our oppressive
puritanical heritage.

Our puritanical heritage is a tugging chain that ties us to
modes of thought and expression from an ignorant past.

The medieval doctrines upon which Puritanism is based hold that
the body is not to be trusted. Its cravings and passions make it
impure and unacceptable in the eyes of a "perfect God. " The body
and its passions are the playthings of the Prince of Darkness.
Self-hating, masochistic feelings like shame and guilt are chained
to the body’s passions to control these natural urges.

Deep within isolated monasteries, monks who had virtually no
contact with the outside world began to create guidelines for human
behavior. These pious men created standards of human behavior to
which no one but an ascetic, isolated monk could adhere to, and
even then not without masochistic amounts of self-effacement and
punishment. Nothing was dealt with as seriously and furiously as
sexuality.

Obviously, young, virile men trapped in vows of chastity and far
away from any woman would naturally have trouble suppressing sexual
desire and licentious thoughts. The puritanical madness concerning
homosexuality probably has its bastard birth within these hallowed
monastery walls. Imagine a herd of men living together, suppressing
all sexual needs, and never finding sexual fulfillment. It would
not be long before one monk would began to give another furtive
glances of longing. One can imagine that, as soon as this began to
happen, the monk who had the offending desires would hurry off to
write down on parchment the evils of homosexuality.

Hence, an ignorant ideal for human behavior replaced a
biological reality that simply is. Instinct and impulse were
exchanged for precepts and commandments. I suppose the unwashed
masses were too unsophisticated for an understanding of sexuality
based on critical thinking, responsibility and self-respect.

Eventually, time rippled and flowed beyond medieval Europe.
Protestant preachers like Calvin and Martin Luther revived the
notion that the defective body needed to be made pure by the
"perfect word of God. "

Later, in the New World, women were murdered and tortured for
being succubae. The female sex was an agent of darkness that
invoked wickedness and debauchery. The intense fear and revulsion
surrounding sexuality allowed the wholesale slaughter of women
whose only crime was sex appeal. The sexual frustration of an
entire culture was channeled into the voyeuristic titillation of
watching the public humiliation and torture of the wicked. (Jerry
Springer, anyone?) The Puritans planted the seeds of what grew into
the thorny vines that choke our culture now.

This leads us back to our modern society, to our polluted
cities, to our failing government. The tales of Clinton’s sexual
promiscuity can be taken as a parable of the ignorance that our
society has inherited from Puritanism.

Powerful men like Clinton have always been prone to sexual
indulgence and decadence. Clinton’s seduction of women and his
mixing of tobacco and sex pales in comparison to the Dionysian
orgies of wine and sex – but the two are of the same origin.

Power breeds indulgence; it is naive to think otherwise. What
happened with Clinton was far from deviant behavior; rather, he was
being completely human. Clinton’s escapades have become a cultural
phenomenon because our puritanical beliefs have created a deluded
understanding of human behavior and sexuality. Clinton’s problems
have far more to say about unregulated power then unrestricted
sexuality.

Our puritanical delusions keep us focused on sexuality instead
of the corrupting nature of power. Puritanism continues due to its
ability to keep its followers blind. (For all of you who said you
never wanted this, don’t lie. You waited to hear all the saucy
details. You felt the twinge of embarrassment and shame. You
reveled in titillation and judgment. Admit it. You loved it.)

Debauchery is the dark side of Puritanism. Sexual decadence is
an example of the extremities invited by puritanical restriction.
Witness the sexual indulgences that followed the oppressive 1950s.
Puritanical extremism fosters wave after wave of sexual and moral
rebellion.

Puritanical restriction cannot escape the rebellious excesses
that it seeks to contain – the two arise together. Sin and
commandments are two heads of the same deranged monster. Puritanism
creates its own demons.

The political figures in America represent more than the
country’s political leanings. Men like Clinton, Newt Gingrich and
John Kennedy are cultural icons who reflect the culture as a whole.
American politicians are elected for what they symbolize as much as
they are elected for their political platforms. Indeed, men like
FDR and JFK are examples of the politician as icon. (Their names
have even been converted to icons and they have iconic power in the
culture. Say JFK and a flood of cultural associations follows.)

When we elect a politician to represent us, an extensive
contract is created because the politician represents many aspects
of the electorate. Imagine the political landscape as a Rorschach
blotch of our culture. Clinton plays an archetypal role in society;
he is like character in a tarot deck.

Our president symbolizes fundamental traits in the social
psyche. Therefore, conflicts and blunders played out on the
political stage serve as a mirror for the greater societal
drama.Alex Doug Ko

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