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The great American
evangelist Billy Graham, who has never been caught in the slightest scandal,
has a strict personal policy of never being alone with any woman except his
wife. Since he doesn't listen to her-- she didn't want to be buried at
the new Billy Graham Theme Park, but he buried her there anyway, so that
more tourists would come-- Graham thinks this has kept him free of sin.
(In fairness to Billy, it appears that his son, Franklin, is the driving
force behind the burial decision, but Billy clearly had final call.)
It is very, very odd that
Billy Graham has never been quite so public about a vow to never, ever be
alone in a room with a man with a lot of money. Or a man interested in
political power. Or a man who wants to create the impression that he
is very devout and prays deeply and sincerely for a long time before bombing
the shit out of a country.
Does this practice do him
credit? How creditable is it to know that Billy Graham feels that no
one should have confidence in his ability to resist the advances of an
attractive woman in a room alone with him? And how creditable is it to
the women with whom he interacts professionally, to know that they can never
have a solo meeting with this very important evangelist (who has body guards
and limousines) but their male colleagues can?
And of course, Billy is
missing the most important flaw in his prophylactic little policy: who knows
if the man he is meeting with,
alone, isn't a homosexual? What if Billy himself....
Obviously, Billy
Graham should never be left alone with anyone... and that includes the
President of the United States, even if he does want to pray before invading
and bombing and destroying a country under false pretenses. You might
object-- the President of the United States? Are you mad? Do you
honestly think the President of the United States would be so foolish as
to.... oh my goodness! I'm right!
It has been said that
Graham's practice is "wise", not only because it helps him resist
temptation and remain "pure", but because it also makes him less vulnerable to
false accusations. Of course, the same could be said about meeting
with men with money or political power: someone might believe that Graham
compromised his principles so he could use someone's private jet or limo or
hotel room, or get invited to the White House or
something. Or is that just in my filthy mind?
All contents copyright © 2007 Bill Van Dyk All rights reserved.
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