Scandalous! Or not?

François Hollande, the President of France, has recently been accused of cheating on his partner Valérie Trierweiler. Although the couple is not married, they are in a committed relationship, so this is still adultery. These types of allegations are nothing new—rumors that former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was cheating on his spouse arose several times during his tenure. Scandals like these, which would and have ruined political careers in America, have not truly affected the French people’s view of their past and present leaders. Although there may be some exceptions, personal lives of politicians should not affect their career, as is largely the case in France. Political sex scandals in America seem unreasonably taboo in comparison. Public leaders can have personal lives; even if they participate in acts that might degrade their morality, they can still perform the duties and obligations given to them when they were elected.Circumstances, of course, emerge in which people can be inappropriate, scandalous, as well as harmful to the community they represent. Anthony Weiner, former United States Congressman, for example, posted multiple sexual pictures via the social website Twitter. Not only is this a public domain, but his apologies were overshadowed by the fact that he continued to send more inappropriate photos. By using Twitter to send these photos, he published his personal life for all to see. As an elected official, this kind of behavior reflected badly upon the district he represented. To make matters worse, he was caught once again in 2013 for sending improper pictures. Here is a man, formerly admired by many, who was given a second chance and still committed the same indecencies. What this behavior says to his followers and constituents is that it is okay to act irresponsibly, that one can ignore his or her own mistakes, and get away with it a second time. When this happens, it is time to step down and recede from the spotlight.There are also occasions when one’s infidelity should not affect his or her life outside of the home. Some of America’s most famous and influential people have been involved in cheating scandals. Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and even Martin Luther King Jr. were all claimed to have been unfaithful towards their spouses. Adultery is a terrible deed that can ruin a household and alienate members of families forever, but the acts of these figures did not affect their accomplishments in changing the world. Some say people’s acts reflect their capabilities as public leaders and for this reason they should not be in positions of power. In most of these cases, however, personal actions seem not to have affected decision-making. A great politician is a great politician, whether or not he or she cheats on his or her spouse. The same goes for public activists and for all people in general. Just imagine if Martin Luther King Jr. or Franklin Roosevelt had stopped what they were doing because of their disloyalty.Indeed, we can regard these people themselves as less honest and respectable for their private choices, but what they did for the world and for humanity itself remains, whether or not they cheated. It is unfortunate that people must resign from a job in which they are spectacular because of irresponsibilities in their personal lives.