Pick
a liar, any liar, and I’ll show you someone who causes us to question our own
lives and values.
Let’s
take Anthony Weiner. Or Eliot Spitzer.
Or Lance Armstrong. Or Ryan Braun. Or A-Rod. The list goes on and on. You can find fraudsters in politics, sports,
the media, on Wall Street, and everywhere that high-profile people exist.
With
every revelation about people in power, or positions of authority, or role
models who have done illegal or unethical or embarrassing things, we have to
wonder if anyone is clean and legitimate in how they perform their jobs and
live their lives. True, no one is
perfect, but in our confessional society, where redemption comes with a
tell-all book or a reality show, you really have to look far to find someone
without significant flaws.
Has
it always been this way but we’re now just finding out the extent to which our
leaders have fallen short of our standards – or are we amidst an era of failure
that is unprecedented?
I
go back and forth with Anthony Weiner.
On the one hand, I could not care less what he does in his private life,
except his private life is not so private.
If he wants to cheat on his wife or sext people half his age, I don’t
care. On the other hand, what kind of
judgment is he exercising when he fails to be discreet and sends out photos of
his penis? Perhaps worse than that – and
the part I struggle with – is he’s a liar.
He tried to cover up the scandal, then confessed, and went away. But then articles appeared about how he stopped sexting strangers and is living a normal family life. He then announces his mayoral candidacy and leads in the polls… until we learn he continued sexting a year after he quite Congress and said he was no longer doing it.
He tried to cover up the scandal, then confessed, and went away. But then articles appeared about how he stopped sexting strangers and is living a normal family life. He then announces his mayoral candidacy and leads in the polls… until we learn he continued sexting a year after he quite Congress and said he was no longer doing it.
Do
we want a serial liar who lacks judgment and self restraint leading the
nation’s largest city? Still, I throw it
against the wall and compare him to his opponents and try to filter who really
would make the best mayor. Besides,
lies aside, if the controversy really is all about his aberrant sex life, who am I to judge
him?
Most liars don’t conflict me. They
violated my trust and disrespected their position. This is especially true with pro
athletes. There is no room in my heart
to forgive the steroid cheaters. Once
these guys stop being true competitors and dope up to get an edge and make
millions, they are on my shit list.
Being
in political office or playing on a field before millions is not like any other
job, and poor behavior simply can’t be tolerated. I feel deeply wounded that a guy like Ryan
Braun, an MVP and perennial all-star would take steroids, and then lie when he
was caught red-handed, and then get off on a technicality, only to then get
caught again. He didn’t even admit to
taking drugs and really didn’t sound sincerely sorry when he issued a lame apology to accept a weak 65-game suspension. He should be thrown out of the game for life
or at least a year. And his contract,
which was entered into based on false performances induced by steroids, should
be voided immediately.
The
American public often forgives its failed stars, though some are harder to like
than others. Barry Bonds and Alex
Rodriguez are divisive lighting rods for all that’s wrong with pro sports. But Pete Rose, who was banned from the game
he loved because he bet on baseball games, is embraced by fans.
Bill
Clinton got impeached by the House of Representatives for getting blown by an
intern in the White House but remained in power and went on to be the best
president of the past 50 years. He has a
high approval rating. We can forgive our
liars and cheaters but we hate them for making us love them.
Interview With Author Sam Tranum
What type of books do you write? I try to write books I'd like to read, and I
have eclectic taste.
I've
written three books: "Daily Life in Turkmenbashy's Golden Age," a
travel memoir about living in Turkmenistan, "U is for Murder," a
novella about a reporter trying to figure out who murdered a uranium salesman,
and "Powerless: India's Energy Shortage and Its Impact," a nonfiction
book that's pretty well introduced by its title. I've also produced or
co-produced three anthologies: "Life at the Edge of the Empire: Oral
Histories of Soviet Kyrgyzstan"; "Lat Does Not Exist," oral
histories from one of the many Indian villages being torn down to make way for
the coal mines fueling India's economic growth; and "Love on the Road
2013," a collection of short stories from around the world about love and
travel, which I put together with my wife.
What is your newest book about? "Powerless: India's Energy
Shortage and Its Impact" is scheduled for publication by Sage India in
September. India's growing energy supply-demand gap is already hobbling the
economy and its only going to get worse. This book lays out the situation in
detail.
What is the writing process like for you? It's like climbing a mountain. There
are pleasant moments along the way, unforgettable views (or insights or
discoveries), but mostly it's just a long, hard slog. The good part is when
I've finished. I've reached the top. I've solved the mystery, satisfied my
curiosity, fashioned my giant mess of research and thinking into something
clear, simple and orderly.
What did you do before you became an author? While producing these books, I've been
working in journalism. I spent four years as a reporter for daily newspapers in
West Virginia and Florida and two years in Washington DC writing for a weekly
publication covering the energy business. I edited for a year at a daily
newspaper in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), and I taught journalism for two years
at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. I've also
done my share of freelancing.
How does it feel to be a published author? Well, I guess I'm not published yet, in
the traditional sense. If all goes well, "Powerless" will be the
first of my books to be put out by a traditional publisher. It looks like
"Lat Does Not Exist" might be my second. How does it feel?
Mostly I feel proud. I love books and I love the idea that someday someone is
going to find a dusty, beat-up, second-hand copy of one of mine in a yard sale
or on a shelf and pick it up and (hopefully) be fascinated by what he or she
finds inside.
Any advice for struggling writers? To paraphrase a quotation the source
and exact wording of which I've forgotten, if there's anything that can keep
you from writing, let it.
Where do you see book publishing heading? It looks like it's going to be messy
and exciting for the dwindling number of us who love, buy and read books. As
publish-on-demand services and e-book platforms continue to democratize
publishing, a lot of really bad books are going to be released and it's going
to get harder and harder to find the good ones in the chaos. However,
there will also be some amazing, innovative books released that the
usually boring, risk-averse big publishing houses would never have
touched.
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Brian
Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and
not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow
him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when
discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©
2013
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