The Importance of Choosing The Correct Call Girl...

A man named John Perfumo died today at the age of 91, according to the Associated Press. If he is remembered at all, it is for his role in an affair that threatened international security during the 1960's and that nearly brought down the Conservative government of Harold MacMillan in England, and led in part to its defeat in 1964 at the polls. Now, he would certainly not be the first person whose political position was threatened by an extramarital affair, indeed, I could mention that of quite a few people much better known by my blog reading audience. Nonetheless, this example is notable for its sensationalism as well as the aftermath of the case, which demonstrates that for all the severity of John Perfumo's sin/error, he was a more decent man than many I know of who have also been caught, figuratively or literally, with their pants down. This example, despite unpleasant, can be useful to us here and now.

John Perfumo was Secretary of State in England in 1963, a 48 year old with a promising political future in the Conservative Party, when allegations came out that he was having an affair with Christine Keeler, a call girl who was apparently also having an affair with a Soviet naval attache and military officer named Yevgeny Ivanov. When a letter he wrote to her was published though (writings are always getting people into trouble), he resigned from the cabinet and immediately became the center of a major national security storm in Great Britain.

It is here where the situation becomes somewhat complicated. It turns out that Perfumo met Keeler through a man named Stephen Ward, an osteopath who apparently profited from the prostitution of Keeler and another call girl, named Mandy Rice-Davies and whose apartment became an adulterous love nest for Perfumo, Ivanov, and (presumably) others. When the case went to trial Ward committed suicide via a drug overdose, despite vehemently denying that he tried to pressure Perfumo to give national security secrets to Ivanov (it was later determined that Perfumo gave away no state secrets, and thus he was not guilty of any security breaches, despite his appalling errors of judgment).

Perfumo was a wealthy man and had been an Oxford educated descendent of an Italian aristocrat who served in North Africa in World War II and who was elected to Parliament first in 1940. His war service was sufficiently exemplary to earn him the award of Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He also had a loyal and devoted wife, an actress named Valerie Hobson, who died in 1998. His wife stood by him during the trial and afterwards, but unlike most wayward husbands with loyal wives, he managed (somehow) to regain trust and reputation through a lifetime of service to the unfortunate, which merits our attention.

For though the Keeler scandal ended his promising political career, Perfumo had not finished his acts of service to the world. Though the scandal unsurprisingly forced him to withdraw from public attention, he still had something to do with his life. After a year out of work, he found unpaid work at Toynbee House as a helper at the noted charity for the poor in London's East End. Beginning as a dishwasher, he moved up to fundraiser, chairman, and president of the charity. He also served in a social club for recovering alcoholics, besides this.

For his charity work he was awarded in 1975 by the Queen the position of Commander of the Order of the British Empire. However, the shame of his scandal never departed from him. In 1989 a film named "Scandal" was made about the Keeler affair, despite the appeals from prominent friends (notably the late Bishop Jim Thompson) for filmakers to cease their labors.

What is most important for us, though, is the difference between Perfumo's reaction to scandal and that of those of us we are more familiar with. Though he, like others in his position, denied the truth when it first came out, he admitted his fault quickly and took personal responsibility for it. He was a man of honor who had blundered seriously, and he did not blame anyone else for his own mistakes. This is a rare quality in leaders, who are constantly trying to shift blame for their mistakes onto others, whether it is those who make the truth known or those who share in their errors. Not only this, though, but he sought to recover his reputation through acts of loyal and devoted service to the less fortunate of society, and continued in this labor for many years, despite having no apparent chance of regaining positions of power and influence. Ironically enough, by doing so he managed to demonstrate his own character and his own basic worthiness of respect and gratitude. In doing so, he managed to recover his reputation in large extent. Here is a truer analogue to the case of David and Bathsheba than most I am forced to hear from others concerning scandal-ridden leaders.

So, today died an old man, and a good man, who made a mistake and never ceased to pay for it. His actions, though, after the fact, demonstrate his basic decency of character. After all, such a sin as his is one that many can fall into. We may all fall into various sorts of temptations, and this is especially the case when someone has wealth, power, and influence. We may compare, however, the responsible actions of John Perfumo with the dishonorable actions of other leaders who have shared his flaw without sharing his nobility of character, and we may see that here was a man who received blame but suffered beyond what he deserved. There are others, however, who largely escaped the blame they were due (and today escape the blame they are due). However, if we do not pay for our sins now, we will do so later. It is better, like Mr. Perfumo, to repent, pay the price, and look forward to a more merciful judgment hereafter.