FREE ESSAY ON ROMEO

ROMEO

As quoted by Hamlet in the play by William Shakespeare, To be or not to be, that is the
question(Fetzer 360). When on the subject of President Clinton, some would rather he not
be than to be. Some look down upon him because of recent accusations against him
concerning him having a sexual relationship with someone other than his wife and then
lying about not taking part in any of his accused shenanigans. The whole ordeal has upset
many parents about how their children will react to all that is going on about the
Clinton scandal, but still some parents find it as an educational and somewhat profitable
lesson to teach their children. The Presidency is a highly honorable task and the
President has disgraced his office. As leader of the free world, it is his responsibility
to set a good example. To little surprise, there are some countries that are angered by
the way the President has handled himself lately. The Clinton scandal is giving parents a
chance to have serious talks to their children, justifying the act of lying in the minds
of children, and giving countries a reason to look down upon the United States. Due to
President Clinton's actions concerning these allegations, there have been three
substantial and obvious affects on today's society.
First, the scandal is giving parents a chance to sit down and have serious talks with
their children. Children are interested in learning about what is going on with the
President and why he is in such big trouble, so parents find this as an opportune time to
talk about lying and lying's drastic consequences. As stated by Chuck Green, I wrote that
parents can cite no finer example than Bill Clinton not as an example of getting away
with lying but as an example of its consequences(Green n.pag.). The problem with this is
parents sometimes get into a sticky situation when they don't know what to tell their
children, but Chuck Green replies by saying, Just tell your kids the truth - that lying
doesn't pay, even if you are the President. Sooner or later, you'll pay a heavy
price(Green n.pag). Lying is not the only major issue that the President's problems have
brought to many parents' attention. Sex has become another issue that parents can discuss
with their children because of the recent scandals. A lot of parents choose not to tell
their children about the birds and the bees, but the scandal almost forces them to talk
about it. Mr. Clinton's troubles also are putting parents on the spot when it comes to
explaining sex, which is a good thing(MacDonald n.pag.). When asked about what she
thought about the Clinton scandal, Amy McMahon said that, She and other parents and
experts say that discussions with children about the President's on going problems may
border on 'distasteful' and 'disgusting'. Some, though, see it as an opportunity to talk
about family values, appropriate and inappropriate behaviors and what happens when people
get into trouble(MacDonald n.pag.). Sex is a part of everyone's life, and it has the
necessity to be discussed with a child eventually; this inappropriate situation allows
for a good discussion in this area.
Next, in the minds of children, the President's lying has significantly justified the act
of lying. Children see the President as a role model, which they look up to and sometimes
imitate in actions. A boy said of the President, He can't lie like the rest of us, 'cause
he's a role model(Shales n.pag.). If kids find the President as a role model and they see
and hear of the President doing these bad things, it might get imbedded in their heads
that what the President has done is all right(Hoover n.pag.). Looking at the situation
from another standpoint, some might say that they see the President doing bad things then
they will learn from his mistakes, right? That is not true. Parents have tried to teach
their children right from wrong and they have always told them to get a role model to
look up to. If the President is a role model and so many kids look up to him, then they
will think what he is doing is the right thing. Then the parents will go and tell their
kid what their role model did was wrong and the children get confused and don't know what
to think. The fact that the President is such a role model was evidently not taken into
account when Clinton considered the recourse of his actions. This negligence has forced
families to deal with issues and problems that should otherwise be left up to the
parents. @@@@@@
In the famous words of the 43rd President of the United States, words which will forever
ring in the ears of all those that heard them, I did not have a sexual relationship with
that woman(Starr 23). Despite that statement, the President later admitted that he had
had an affair. If that's all that can be remembered of a person who is supposed to be one
of the most prestigious and most honorable people in the world, then it can be assumed
that there is something very wrong. Society needs to learn from the mistakes of the
President and parents to learn to be more prepared for if anything like this happens
again so that their children can be taught the right ideas. How can parents teach their
children right from wrong when the President is setting a bad example? All in all, while
the President's actions have had many effects, both good and bad, he has put himself and
the nation in a very difficult position, one that could have 
Bibliography
Works Citied
Green, Chuck. Clinton column Hits Home. Denver Post 2 Oct. 1998, Rockies ed.: B1 [online]
Proquest. 2 Dec. 1998.
Fields, Suzanne. Scandal Could Help Initiate Dialogue for Parents, Kids. Arizona Republic
13 Sept. 1998, Final ed.: B7 [online] Proquest 2 Dec. 1998 
MacDonald, Sue. Clinton Under Fire; Talking to Kids; Parents Face Tough Decisions about
Discussions. Cincinnati Enquirer 12 Sept. 1998, East ed.: A3 [Online] Proquest. 2 Dec.
1998.
Hoover, Barbara. Psychologists Have Tips on Explaining Clinton Affair to Kids. Detroit
News 19 Aug. 1998, Final ed.: e1 [Online] Proquest. 2 Dec. 1998.
Shales, Tom. Clinton: Smart Talk to and from Kids. Washington Post 29 Sept. 1998 , Final
ed.:D1 [Online] Proquest. 4 Dec. 1998.
Fetzer, Scott. MacBeth World Book Encyclopedia 1988 ed.