Family values is something that came up in American politics. Let's see examples from people who are supposed to be role models. Starting with those who emphasize family values, the Republicans. You must have heard about Sarah Palin's daughter, and maybe about her divorced sister. Rudolf Giuliani, who ran a campaign for candidacy, was married three times (one of his wife first heard about the divorce from a press conference).
John McCain's wife waited for him five years while he was in the Vietnamese prison. When he returned, he found she had a severe accident. After few years he divorced her to marry a cheer girl, daughter of a millionaire with political connections.
In our family, shortly after my father was born my grandfather had an accident and became disabled. The thought of a divorce never crossed the minds of my grandparents. In those days, accidents were part of life, and no serious person would marry someone who divorced because of an accident. The way my grandmother took care of my grandfather only made people appreciate her more.
The Democratic Party is no better. Recently John Edwards was caught having an affair after his wife got cancer. You heard all about Bill Clinton, and maybe also about Eliot Spitzer. Obama is a representative of the new generation. His parents separated when he was two years old (he first met his Kenyan grandmother when he was 19).
Europe follows. Sarkozy, Berlusconi, Merkel and Prince Charles are all in second marriage. In Israel, Barak is in second marriage, Netanyahu in third, not to mention the former president (and former defense and justice ministers).
Elections campaigns can be viewed as a modern form of adult education, or sometimes multiple education systems running in parallel. Placing this type of candidates sends a message to the public what behavior is needed to "succeed". It also says something about the people who vote for them. In fact, divorced Americans are one of the biggest segments of the population and the parties need their votes. So divorces became just a problem for environmentalists.
I am coming for a short visit next week. I'll have a talk at Weizmann, and will be happy to meet you if plans work out. My "little" sister is getting married. Mazaltov to Noa and Ram!
