[Rhodes22-list] Spitzer (Gov) A Man Past His Time

[elle]

He was just born 'way too late...


elle



Why would someone as rich and powerful as Eliot
Spitzer put his family, his job and his promising
future on the line for an alleged $4,000 date with a
prostitute?

Is this pathological or inherent in human nature?

Scientists says it's more likely to be the latter.
They attribute this kind of behavior to natural
promiscuity combined with opportunity - along with a
risk-taking personality common to men like Bill
Clinton and John F Kennedy. It's what makes them seek
office and what makes us want to vote for them.

Psychologist Christopher Ryan, author of "Sex in
Prehistory," says the desire for sex with more than
one person has always been there - for leaders and
followers alike. "The desire is not a function of
status or power - it's a question of availability."

What's relatively new to the human race, he said, is
the ability to exercise power and the connection
between power and sex.

That's because, for most of human existence, there was
only so far a man could coerce others when food was
essentially free and hard to hoard. And until
relatively recently, sex with multiple partners was
the norm. "It would have been very unusual 100,000
years ago for a person to have one sexual partner for
30 years," said Ryan in an interview from Barcelona.

We don't know this for sure, because prehistoric
sexual behavior doesn't fossilize, but there's much we
can infer from studying how people in foraging
cultures live today, he said. Such cultures tend to be
relatively egalitarian and promiscuous, at least by
American standards, he said. But prostitution is rare,
as he believes it was for most of our past.

"There would be no need for prostitutes because there
would be very few sexually frustrated men," he said.

So in other words, if Spitzer had been born in 40,000
B.C., he would never have gotten into this fix.

While Ryan argues that men and women are both
naturally promiscuous and power simply gives men the
opportunity to follow that nature, psychiatrist
Gabriela Cort takes a more open view of the human
male. Alpha males - leaders - are often indeed full of
pent-up sexual energy, but they don't always use it to
get in trouble, said Cort, author of the upcoming
book, "Leading Under Pressure."

"Some alpha males do whatever they want for their own
purposes but others can be very loyal." Alpha males
often have excess sexual energy, but instead of
cheating or visiting high-priced call girls, she said,
many channel it into other pursuits. "Some people
create things - or do things for the public good."

Temple University psychologist Frank Farley suggests
that while we're busy shaking our heads at Spitzer, we
could stand to look back at ourselves and question why
we vote for men like him. Risk-taking personalities
are attracted to the uncertain world of politics, he
said, and at the same time voters are attracted to
them.

"We want our leaders to show some qualities of
innovation," he said. "We want bold men willing to
push their ideas."

We don't choose people riddled with anxieties to run
our government or our corporations, though such people
may act in a thoughtful, conscientious way. We loved
John Kennedy for standing up to the Soviets during the
Cuban Missile Crisis.

"We don't want shrinking violets in these kinds of
roles," Farley said.

Along with that package you get personal risk-taking -
the affairs, the dabbling in solicitation and
sometimes other crimes. "It's hard to get rid of it in
politics," he said.

The other question that left many of us puzzled: Why
pay for it when a man like Spitzer could probably get
women for free?

"Men such as those in Spitzer's position do not so
much pay for women to have sex with them; they pay for
women to go away AFTER having sex with them," said
evolutionary psychologist David Buss of the University
of Texas. "It's one strategy some men use for
minimizing the costs, although obviously it did not
work for Spitzer."




We can't change the angle of the wind....but we can adjust our sails.

 1992 Rhodes 22   Recyc '06  "WaterMusic"   (Lady in Red)


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