The fallout over the hard-partying Secret Service Agents on Cartagena, Columbia has been all over the news, so I will not bother with posting a link to any article.
My concern is a more basic one. While listening to a talk radio station in my area a few days ago, the callers were mainly of the opinion that the event should not be considered a big deal. While I would agree that we have a tremendous amount of what I believe to be illegal activity going on in the Obama administration that is not being investigated (Such as the ATF's Fast and Furious program), the public apathy towards the event itself concerns me.
What I heard from the callers was not the regular "victimless crime" mumbo-jumbo that I expected. In particular, two of the callers described either their or a friend's knowledge of how prostitution is viewed in Columbia. "It's no big deal down there" was one. Another indicated that he was aware that prostitution is widespread in that nation, also apparently implying that, since so many people are involved in this practice in Columbia, one should not judge others.
I know that word on the street has it that this has been going on for years, but, as with any illicit activity to which supervisors turn a blind eye, what people are doing will, at one point, be exposed.
Aside from my concerns for the manner in which the reputation of the Secret Service will be affected by this scandal, I hold that we are missing a major point. It does not take someone with a PHD in Sociology to know that there is a direct correlation with extreme poverty and widespread prostitution. If there are so many prostitutes that one would feel comfortable asserting that "hiring" them is no big deal, common sense would tell you that this is likely due to the economic conditions in the nation. Women who have a shot at obtaining a decent education and honorable and fairly paid work will generally not drift towards selling their bodies to men.
From the angle of the Western Man, those of which I would assume constitute the bulk of the Secret Service Agents (Note that I include American Blacks and Hispanics as Western Men since many or most of their families go back more generations in the US than do mine), I am of the opinion that we have a prime example of hypocrisy and lack of empathy. Most of these Agents have daughters, sisters, girlfriends, wives, etc. I am sure that they are appreciative of the fact that their female relatives are fortunate to live in a nation in which prostitution has little allure. Although things are ugly on our financial side too, the economic climate in the US has not gotten bad enough that many young women consider becoming prostitutes.
From the angle of the Colombian women who are currently, or may at some point become prostitutes, I wonder how many of them, say being 24 years old now, had this employment option on their radar when they were 16.
My point is a simple one; if you do not like that thought of females close to you engaging in prostitution, especially if it is due to having few other options, then you should refrain from "hiring" them for their "services". I don’t care if the Agents belly up to the bar and have a blast while overseas, but one should, in addition to maintaining the professional standards of the Agency (Even if that means being one of few who do so), refrain from what is effectively taking advantage of the women's plight that leads to engaging in prostitution.
My other concern is that we have long been all too happy with our, in the words of Samuel Huntington, "illusion of permanency"*. We have no guarantee that our economic situation will continue to even hold its current mediocre level. At some point, we may see our own nation devolve into one in which young people have few if any options for decent employment. If we do not begin practicing austerity (On our own- not government enforced), encourage a return to our traditional American values, and fight tooth and nail to bring morality back into our picture, we could see ourselves being faced with the same situation as that of Columbia. I for one would not want visitors from other nation expecting easy access to hordes of prostitutes in my country.
Fortunately, we do not have a terror group such as the FARC, with the societal and economic disruptions caused by them, operating in the US. Such conditions inhibit economic growth and are probably a factor to Columbia's current state. I would not be surprised, though if some US Marxists, if their candidate does not win in November, drop the whole "Occupy" idea and try to start their own terror movement. Note that I say "some", since the vast majority of American Marxists, having never worked, little or no military training, a real aversion to any authority, no patience, zero experience of physical exposure to the elements, and the discipline of five year-old boys at a classmate’s birthday party, would not be likely to make much of an effective fighting body. Let’s not forget that, thanks to the environmentalists, there is not much access to shooting ranges for them to become even somewhat familiar with firearms, so they will have to stick with homemade explosives, with all of the substantial dangers entailed in the production processes of these. There may very well be a whole lot of Marxists going by the moniker "lefty" and "one-eye" if they go this route.
Our society also needs to bring back empathy for others. How hard is it to teach your son that he can avoid having sex with one woman after another and still be manly?
I guess that I should add that, being on a Presidential Protection Detail, one is required to refrain from taking any chances that anyone not privy or otherwise associated with the detail could become aware of the locations of times of the President's stay. When I handled an explosives detection police K9 and our unit was called by the Secret Service to do sweeps prior to a visit by the President or other high-level dignitary, I did not find it difficult to keep my mouth shut until the detail was completely over. Bringing a foreign woman into one's room could lead to any operational notes in the possession of the Agent being read, photographed, or taken.
*Samuel Huntington wrote "The Clash of Civilizations". In the book, he outlines where the political and military lines of divisions may fall in the future. His opinions on the future conflict between the Western World and Islam, as expected, drew all sorts of attacks from the Left.
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