Post by jonsa112 on Dec 4, 2012 22:11:08 GMT -5
The Truth Always Prevails
People tend to lie in order to hide the truth and save themselves from scandals. Former Criminal Intelligence Agency director, David Petraeus, however did not. During his time as the director of the CIA, Petraeus had an affair with the author of his biography, Paula Broadwell. The affair became viral after the Federal Bureau of Investigation agents had been conducting a criminal investigation into possible security breaches. The agents examined his computer emails and had found that there were emails linked between Broadwell and Petraeus. The FBI insisted on whether the email account had been hacked or someone was posing as Petreaus himself.
Mr. Petraeus could have lied and stated that someone was hacking into his computer or that someone was posing as him. But Mr. Petraeus did something that the American public was not accustomed to in 2012. On November 9th, Mr. Petraeus admitted to his affair with Ms. Broadwell publicly and the same day he offered his resignation to President Obama. Similar scandals in the past can show how Petraeus’ actions of admitting to his affair and resigning on his own show how Petraeus is a man worth praising. He took ownership of his mistake and acted upon it immediately. A similar scandal to the Petraeus one is the Lewinsky scandal. The Lewinsky scandal was when former President Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky had sexual relations. Twice, Clinton denied to having an affair with Lewinsky. However Clinton in grand jury court carefully stated that the two had an “improper physical relationship”. After this the American public viewed Clinton differently because he lied to them about the affair. The American people were disappointed with both Petraeus and Clinton. The difference was that Petreaus admitted to his wrongdoing immediately while Clinton denied his mistakes. Americans accepted Petreaus’ actions easier because after his admission of truth, everyone could move forward. Clinton’s blunder was allowing the situation to drag out.
Petreaus tried to preserve his name by coming out with the truth and admitting his wrongful actions. Petraeus’ behavior can be closely connected to Miller’s character in The Crucible, John Proctor, and his refusal to sign the confession of him being a witch. Proctor does not sign the confession because if he did he would be remembered as a witch and not John Proctor. By refusing to sign the confession, he preserves his name as John Proctor, and would be remembered as the man that went against the court truthfully instead of siding with the court as a liar and coward. Petraeus truthfully admits to his affair and by doing so, preserves his name as the man who had the affair but did not deny it and lie. Petraeus, refusing to lie about the scandal shows how although he did have an affair, it is better for his self image to come out from the beginning and say what he did. Both Petreaus and Proctor realize that being dishonest and acting cowardly is not the way they want to be remembered. They want their legacy to be of their respectable accomplishments towards society not their indiscretions.
Works Cited:
www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/us/david-petraeus-seen-as-an-invincible-cia-director-self-destructs.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1354482569-7GN/Mu99PCGrg8XuUs91ug
Word Count: 516
People tend to lie in order to hide the truth and save themselves from scandals. Former Criminal Intelligence Agency director, David Petraeus, however did not. During his time as the director of the CIA, Petraeus had an affair with the author of his biography, Paula Broadwell. The affair became viral after the Federal Bureau of Investigation agents had been conducting a criminal investigation into possible security breaches. The agents examined his computer emails and had found that there were emails linked between Broadwell and Petraeus. The FBI insisted on whether the email account had been hacked or someone was posing as Petreaus himself.
Mr. Petraeus could have lied and stated that someone was hacking into his computer or that someone was posing as him. But Mr. Petraeus did something that the American public was not accustomed to in 2012. On November 9th, Mr. Petraeus admitted to his affair with Ms. Broadwell publicly and the same day he offered his resignation to President Obama. Similar scandals in the past can show how Petraeus’ actions of admitting to his affair and resigning on his own show how Petraeus is a man worth praising. He took ownership of his mistake and acted upon it immediately. A similar scandal to the Petraeus one is the Lewinsky scandal. The Lewinsky scandal was when former President Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky had sexual relations. Twice, Clinton denied to having an affair with Lewinsky. However Clinton in grand jury court carefully stated that the two had an “improper physical relationship”. After this the American public viewed Clinton differently because he lied to them about the affair. The American people were disappointed with both Petraeus and Clinton. The difference was that Petreaus admitted to his wrongdoing immediately while Clinton denied his mistakes. Americans accepted Petreaus’ actions easier because after his admission of truth, everyone could move forward. Clinton’s blunder was allowing the situation to drag out.
Petreaus tried to preserve his name by coming out with the truth and admitting his wrongful actions. Petraeus’ behavior can be closely connected to Miller’s character in The Crucible, John Proctor, and his refusal to sign the confession of him being a witch. Proctor does not sign the confession because if he did he would be remembered as a witch and not John Proctor. By refusing to sign the confession, he preserves his name as John Proctor, and would be remembered as the man that went against the court truthfully instead of siding with the court as a liar and coward. Petraeus truthfully admits to his affair and by doing so, preserves his name as the man who had the affair but did not deny it and lie. Petraeus, refusing to lie about the scandal shows how although he did have an affair, it is better for his self image to come out from the beginning and say what he did. Both Petreaus and Proctor realize that being dishonest and acting cowardly is not the way they want to be remembered. They want their legacy to be of their respectable accomplishments towards society not their indiscretions.
Works Cited:
www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/us/david-petraeus-seen-as-an-invincible-cia-director-self-destructs.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1354482569-7GN/Mu99PCGrg8XuUs91ug
Word Count: 516