Great thinkers’ opinions are gold literally. $11 billion was spent on self-help books in 2008 and that’s just in the United States (although we are the primary consumers of self-help literature) and that doesn’t include biography another method of emulation. We spend tons of time analyzing the philosophies of great leaders from the past dissecting their lives for keys to a good life or rules for a righteous morality. But often we collectively decide to bury their “faults ignoring the fact that many of our most famous thinkers and leaders led lives that were less that socially acceptable, at least in modern culture. In fact, the rules Pepperdine has created along with the standards for admission would probably rule out many of the world’s most respected and successful leaders.
Richard Branson, worth $4.4 billion according to Forbes, is renowned worldwide for both his business success and his philanthropic efforts, and he admitted that he often smokes marijuana with his son and has tried other drugs repeatedly. I don’t think smoking the occasional spliff is all that wrong. I’d rather my son did it in front of me than behind closed doors said Branson in an interview with the Daily Mail. Branson has also made public many other stories of drug use and philandering. I’m pretty sure if he were a student he’d be one ill-advised Facebook photo away from expulsion. He definitely wouldn’t get to go overseas.
President Abraham Lincoln, one of America’s most beloved role models, is known for his steady temper and wisdom. But before he became president, he was more notorious for his fits of violent rage, fueled by a then popular drug called blue mass.” The drug was widespread in the 19th century and was composed of mostly mercury which is toxic to humans. A study in “Perspectives in Biology and Medicine” said that while on the blue pill Lincoln “becomes subject to towering rages and outbursts of bizarre behavior—jumping up suddenly and running out of the house for no reason and bursts of inappropriate laughter.” I don’t see “blue mass” prohibited in the handbook but I’m pretty sure mind-altering drugs are discouraged.
Then of course there are well-known figures like President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy carried the United States through some of the most difficult and trying times like the Cuban Missile Crisis and the building of the Berlin Wall. While the issue has yet to be settled for good many historians have also credited JFK with one of the most ridiculous sex lives in politics. He was famously quoted saying “If I don’t have a woman for three days I get terrible headaches.” Whether or not his affairs with the likes of Marilyn Monroe Angie Dickinson and Kim Novak are actually true we know from Kennedy himself that the 1 a.m. curfew for the opposite sex would have been a big issue.
It seems the more revered and respected the leader is the more extreme their bad behavior can be. Sir Winston Churchill Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II was once referred to by the Queen as “the greatest living Briton.” In addition to being the greatest living Briton he was also a drunk a chain cigar smoker and dangerously obese. He is famous for his vulgar feuds with other British politicians and his inhuman ability to consume cigars. In his case it would be more than just rules. Churchill would never have been able to make it to a class in the CCB without collapsing from exhaustion and could have drunk any fraternity under the table. He probably would have been good friends with Benjamin Franklin had they applied to Pepperdine at the same time. Franklin’s own writings and private letters have revealed him not only as a fantastic drunk but an experienced womanizer. It would take more than gunfire to stop Churchill and Franklin from throwing a Halloween beach party.
Of course I don’t personally advocate anything mentioned in this column (ever) but their entire lives should be taken into consideration when we decide what constitutes good and bad behavior. On closer examination it’s incredible that the rules that Pepperdine and the Christian church in general have established considering that the religion was created by an avid wine drinker who fueled a party with a miracle.