William Bennett's Vice and Virtue

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http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15848

 

William Bennett's Vice and Virtue

 

 

By Debra McCorkle, AlterNet

May 6, 2003

 

About once a year I love losing fifty bucks at a casino. I'm not a masochist and

would prefer to win money, of course. In fact, every time I walk into Harrah's

at Cherokee, NC or the Grand Casino at Biloxi, I expect to miraculously exit

with several thousand dollars stuffed in my pockets. I fantasize about paid-off

credit cards and eating at good restaurants for a week. I get high off the

adrenaline rush. However, I am a realist and walk away from those blackjack

machines once fifty dollars is gone.

 

 

 

I would never fool myself into thinking that gambling is a good thing in

general. Consider this mind-boggling fact: More money is spent in the U.S. on

gambling every year than the combined revenues of all recorded music, theme

parks, movie tickets, video games and spectator sports. Gambling is the great

American pastime, and its profits benefit a smallish group of corporate

interests, organized criminals, some Native American reservations and a few

state education funds.

 

 

 

William Bennett, former drug czar and professional virtuous guy, has been outed

by Newsweek and the Washington Monthly as a casino regular. The author of eleven

books on morality lost a half million dollars within two days last month at the

Bellagio in Las Vegas. He wired $1.4 million to cover his losses in a single two

month period. He is reported to prefer $500 per pull slot machines and has a

credit line of $200,000 at four casinos where he is a regular. He claims that he

has broken " just about even " during his decades of gambling, but casino workers

who watch him play have laughed at his claim.

 

 

 

" I've gambled all my life and it's never been a moral issue with me, " Bill

Bennett informed the public recently.

 

 

 

Gee, Bill, some people have smoked pot all their lives and it's never been a

moral issue with them, either. Some folks hate war and are convinced their feet

are planted firmly on moral ground. Yet Bennett has used such examples as

evidence of America's " erosion of moral clarity. " Why is his high-rolling butt

more virtuous than mine?

 

 

 

William Bennett has made a sizable fortune with his various books on virtue. An

outspoken critic of " moral relativism, " he insists on a clear view of moral

behavior based on conservative Christian Republican values. Bennett's take on

morality includes condemnation of homosexual behavior, Jesse Jackson, gangsta

rap, Jerry Springer, marijuana, affirmative action, and war protesters. The good

stuff includes George W., Israel, school vouchers, faith-based initiatives, Rush

Limbaugh ( " a symbol of encouragement " ) and the pledge of allegiance. He refuses

criticism of the cigarette industry, alcohol, and now gambling.

 

 

 

You can't escape from Bennett's virtue industry these days. His works are wildly

popular, particularly among fundamentalists. His book on the morality of our war

on terrorism has dominated bookstores recently, and every college graduate seems

to receive a copy of his " Book of Virtues. " Even Chick-fil-a gave out virtue

booklets to children, so that morality could be served up with boneless chicken

products ... okay, I'm no saint. Although I have read numerous PETA tracts on

the evils of the poultry industry and have viewed their slideshow on

institutionalized chicken torture, I still eat chicken. I'm one of Bennett's

awful moral relativists, but at least I don't deny it.

 

 

 

" I view (gambling) as drinking. If you can't handle it, don't do it. " As the

drug czar under George Bush I, William Bennett could not preach loudly enough

about the danger of inhaled tar found in marijuana cigarettes. Yet, he seems

oddly subdued about the problems associated with gambling. His longstanding

argument that drug use causes homelessness, crime, emotional and physical abuse,

suicide, and financial ruin is equally applicable to legal gambling.

 

 

 

The poorest citizens spend the largest portion of their disposable income on

gambling. Any of us who pump gasoline at local convenience store here in Georgia

on a Friday afternoon are well aware of this as the lottery lines form. I am

thankful for the Hope scholarship, but the reality is that my children's future

education may be funded by blue-collar gambling addicts whose families need

their money now. Not only does gambling cause bankruptcy, suicide and criminal

activity, the loss of revenue toward other pursuits actually creates a

measurable decline in other small businesses where casino activity is

established.

 

 

 

Personally, I can't advocate the end of legalized gambling because prohibition

never stops anything. Enforced morality scares the shit out of me, and we might

as well get some tax revenue out of our vices. I'll never boycott the industry –

I guess, like William Bennett, it's " okay " for me to waste a little money at the

slots.

 

 

 

Obviously embarrassed by the recent publicity, Bennett claims to be reforming.

Just after the news of his extensive gambling habits broke he announced that he

would cease all casino activity. Is this for real? Maybe Bennett's moral compass

is pointing toward the solid profits from his book sales and future speaking

engagements ($50,000 per speech). His gambling losses are estimated at eight

million dollars over the last decade. His target audience is made up of

conservative churchgoers, not the Cosa Nostra syndicate (an organized crime

family whose major income comes from gambling). Giving up the slots would be the

sensible thing to do.

 

 

 

Swearing off compulsive vices is easier said than done, however. Remember when

Jimmy Swaggart repented publicly for his dalliances with New Orleans hookers in

order to save his evangelical empire? He tried, but kept backsliding right onto

those unwashed cheap motel bedspreads. I suspect that gambling is a tough

addiction, otherwise Gamblers Anonymous wouldn't have multiple meetings in all

fifty states and 36 countries.

 

 

 

Gamblers Anonymous recommends that the gambling addict admit that he is 1)

unwilling to accept reality; 2) an emotionally insecure individual; 3) basically

immature and manifesting this by his desire to be a " big shot. " Sounds a lot

like a guy who runs around telling everyone that the moral compass in his pocket

is a lot bigger than theirs. Good luck with your recovery, Bill.

 

 

 

Debra McCorkle is a shopowner who splits her time between North Carolina and

Georgia.

 

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