We owe the phrase, “power is the greatest aphrodisiac,” to Henry Kissinger who, when that phrase came out, caused me to raise my eyebrows and see him in a much different light.
The latest of the powerful to experience that aphrodisiac is the Governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford. He disappeared for a few days and, on reappearing, announced that his absence was to take a walk on the Appalachian Trail to ‘clear his head.’ It turns out that he was ‘clearing his ears’ on a flight to Argentina to see his mistress.
Kissinger was right, though. With the Democrats and Clinton out of power, the aphrodisiac passed to the Republicans in power, and we have had a number of Republicans mouthing ‘family values’ while slipping into the sheets of non-marital beds. (Although the Governors of New York—Spitzer and Patterson±—kept the Democrats from absenting themselves totally from the playing field.) Now that the Democrats are back in power, the headline stories will soon predominently shift to them.
Sanford, to justify not resigning as Governor, referred to the story of King David and Bathsheba, with David continuing as king. Which just goes to show that having a solid knowledge of the Bible can be of immense benefit in justifying doing wrong and not expecting to suffer consequences.
Combining David and sex in the same sentence reminded me of the biblical mandate that I felt should have accompanied me on my retirement. I hinted that the first four verses of the first chapter of I Kings would be appropriate: “King David was now an old man, and he always felt cold, even under a lot of blankets. His officials said, Your majesty we will look for a young woman to take care of you. She can lie down beside you and keep you warm.” They found a beautiful young woman named Shunem, and she did take care of David. But, David was apparently too old, for we read, “David did not have sex with her.”
Perhaps the deacons felt that on retirement I was just not old enough, or more likely, they had taken to heart my repeated comment that the Bible was not an infallible rule book.
Tags: The Greatest Aphrodisiac
