Saturday, July 4, 2009

Politician’s Wife Hauls Off And Hits The Guy

by Cece Redmond

Scandal hit the news about South Carolina, Governor Mark Sanford’s, extramarital activities in Argentina. His affair shook a state, rocked a political party, and destroyed a family. Personal emails between Sanford and his lover have been read as news coverage and the news media continues to dig for more illicit details.

Jenny Sanford the governor’s wife and mother of four fairly young children didn’t haul off and slap the guy, but perhaps she should have. She stood strong against the tide of news people. She walked down her drive-way made a statement and shut the door. She has allowed the governor to fend for himself.  This is ground breaking territory for a politician's wife.

Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Edwards and Jackie Kennedy stood by their men in forgiveness. Through the years wives stood by their men when they went outside of the marriage and had an affair. These women were beside the man during press conferences when they proclaimed innocence, how sorry they were, or never said a word.

It would be such a statement if the wife of a politician slapped the man across the face during his press announcement of an illicit affair. The world has changed from the days when Jackie Kennedy stood by her husband. During that era it seemed natural and a part of the job for The President to have extramarital affairs. Bill Clinton would have been fired from his job if he had worked for someone other than the government.

Remember the movie “He’s Just Not That Into You,” and how the movie started with a little boy shoving a girl and calling her names. The premise of the movie showed how women grow up to believe that when a boy treats us mean it is a sign of how much they like us.

Is standing by a man that broke his promises, destroyed a family and rocked the political world what women should do? Haven’t women made enough progress that we can come out and say to the world that we deserve to be treated with respect and dignity no matter how old we are, or who we are married to?

Jenny Stanford, has done well in her handling the situation. She told him, before he left on his South American adventure, that he had a choice and a path to save their marriage and family. He made his choice, and now she has shown the world that she will not play the game by the old rules.

The way women should be treated and what treatment women should expect starts in the playgrounds with mothers. Not just mothers of little girls but mothers of boys, they should teach them new rules of engagement for playing the game of love and marriage.

Tell the truth about when a male person hits you, shoves you, calls you names or betrays your trust. It does not mean he likes you. Truth is, it means he is a person with serious personal issues, and he needs professional help.

Jenny Sanford did not slap the jerk during a press conference, but she has held onto her dignity and slammed the media door shut. She has refused to stand by her man, and she made a stand for strong women to follow.

Leave your comments: Is it stronger to leave or stand by the cheater?

5 comments:

deelightfulady said...

It is stronger to leave as I am a testament to that

Anonymous said...

I Agree with this

The Belle in Blue said...

Well, I don't think she should have slapped him because I don't ever think hitting is appropriate, but I certainly would have liked to see her verbally slap him! And I would also have taken all his belongings and dumped them on the lawn of the state capitol to greet him when he came back from his little rendezvous.

grankk said...

Whether or not she leaves or stays I think depends on if he sincerely regrets what he has done & never does it again. If it's a habitual thing I don't think she has an obligation to stay nor should she,unless he really straightens up. No man or woman should hit their spouse. If a man beats his wife or hits her, or mentally or verbally abuses her, that is not true love. The Bible says that a husband is to love his wife as much as he loves himself. He would not treat himself that way, nor should he treat his wife that way.

k a b l o o e y said...

Once she was convinced he had no interest in his family nor in her well-being nor dignity, it was up to her to leave him. Good for her.