by David Bozeman
Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s take on the Tiger Woods saga is that monogamy is over-rated. Of course, that randy old coot does not speak for the majority of Americans — at least not yet. And a large proportion of those with whom his philosophy does resonate fully understand that it goes hand in hand with the ultimate goal of all on the left: massive government intervention into every aspect of the individual’s life.
The parallel ascensions of government intervention and a highly permissive, sexualized culture are not coincidental. One buttresses the other. The last line of defense against creeping statism is the traditional family. Renowned economist and social critic George Gilder wrote in 1986’s Men and Marriage that, “women transform male lust into love, channel male wonderlust into jobs, homes and families; link men to specific children; rear children into citizens; change hunters into fathers. . . “
With the weakening of the family unit over the past forty years, big government invariably seeps in to fill the void. It is true of the socialist, sexually sophisticated states of Europe, notably France, which liberals sneered was laughing at the uproar over the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. Observers have noted that the account of Mary Kay Latourneau, the teacher who had an affair with and married a student, while shocking to Americans, is considered a love story in the land of brie and beaujolais.
Meanwhile, Americans instinctively perceive government-sponsored health care as the death knell of a free society, thus the impassioned opposition. We consider ourselves autonomous individuals, united by family, community and work, not by the frills and fashions of a continental culture where self-gratification and government-mandated summer holidays are the highest ideals. The U.S. has accepted many tenets of the Playboy Philosophy, but has yet to embrace it in totality.
Admittedly, to some, Hugh Hefner is lovably naughty cavorting through the entertainment channels with his current trio of twenty-something girlfriends. Is it telling that two in his current crop — twins — frequently sport Obama t-shirts? They, as well, will pass their sexual expiration dates somewhere in their twenties. And then, if they don’t find real work, they may eventually end up turning to one of the Big Government welfare programs to find another yet benefactor to pay their ways.
For ordinary people, the love ‘em and leave ‘em lifestyle is a recipe for social disaster. Hef is not the object of envy he fancies himself — many Americans are repulsed at the notion of leaving women and children to either fend for themselves or become wards of government bureaucracies. Not just conservatives but, no less a Democratic icon than the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan noted, in a 1965 report on the “State of the Negro Family,” the alarming rates of unemployment, welfare dependency — and illegitimacy.
Of course, not all or even most welfare recipients are African-American. The over-riding point is that divorce and unwed motherhood have been the most common reasons people apply for welfare. Once government has stepped in and assumed the roles of husband and father, is health care provider not a logical next step?
One could argue that it’s a stretch to link the latest sex scandal to far-reaching government policy, but culture sets the tone for what is and is not permissible. The mores of an if-it-feels-good-do-it, who-am-I-to-judge culture invariably bleed into national politics.
Fortunately, in America, as in golf, the standards of gentlemanly and ladylike behavior remain high, and we still depend on ourselves and our families for our welfare. Despite his fortune, Hugh Hefner is just a soft-core pornographer and not a statesman, and we will fend off the Nanny state by promoting not his definition of cool but what we think is right.
David Bozeman is a Liberty Features Syndicated writer for Americans for Limited Government.
