Recently there was a story in the papers that the late Martin Luther King was a sexy guy. This all came about because the FBI found out when they were checking on him to find out if he had Communist connections.
Now people who are on Martin Luther King’s side are all het up about this expose; yet I see not much wrong as many religious leaders were pretty sexy too.
It’s all natural behaviour of people, animals, and bugs etc. And the Bible which most of us claim as the source of our morality has old patriarchs in all kinds of sexy hanky panky.
Abraham and Jacob had wives and handmaidens. Later on King David schemed even to have adultery with Bathsheba, his trusting General Uriah’s wife. He then saw that Uriah got killed in a battle.
He was found out by one of his prophets and made to be sorry for his act; yet this sinful indiscretion had a happy result. For from David and Bathsheba was born a son, Solomon. And if you know your Bible, he was the great-great-grandfather of Jesus. If you don’t believe this then read Matthew: Chapter 1 Verse 6.
And Solomon was a wise King who was supposed to have authored the ageless book of the Bible: Ecclesiastes. President Kennedy was fond of quoting from this book.
But Solomon was no straight-laced Puritan either. He was much a father of his country as he had hundreds of wives and concubines. In the story of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain makes fun of Solomon and his harem. One wife gave a guy enough trouble, and one can’t be very wise to get himself a harem. Yet, there is something to be said for polygamy. If I could have my druthers I’d prefer to be sired by a wise and healthy leader of men than by a crippled simpleton. The science of genetics recognizes this and successful farmers learn to breed cattle with exceptional males.
In latter day America there was a religious leader J. Humphrey Noyes who had as little compunction about multiple marriages as did Solomon. He was a leader of a sect called Perfectionists and they organized a Christian communist society in Oneida, New York.
They not only had property in common but women too. However, there was an enlightened concern. The women were bred by the healthiest all-around male. Since most of the community was of the opinion that Noyes was the best male he fathered most of the children.
The children were brought up wanted and loved and they were healthier than the children on the outside.
Though the community passed away with the leader, the factories they operated making silverware and animal traps still operate; or were the last I know of.
About that time there was another persuasive religious leader named Joseph Smith who said he found golden plates which an angel Moroni led him to. With this revelation he started his religion the Latter Day Saints.
A monument to his ability in convincing people to believe and work together is a historic temple which still stands in nearby Kirtland.
When Joseph Smith had a revelation that the saints should take on more than one wife, the straight people of those times took offence and his group had to leave for Illinois. There he was murdered by people who also didn’t approve of multiple wives.
However, the new religion was so convincing that his disciple Brigham Young led the saints to the promised land of Utah. Eventually the Mormons had to give up the idea of having more than one wife, but it was a factor in hurrying up the populating a big empty state with a lot of fine babies.
George Bernard Shaw observed that in Utah there was an honest experiment in the human condition and it proved a woman because she answers nature to beget the best possible progeny would prefer a tenth part of a first rate man than all of a tenth rate man.
In short, she’d rather be one of the wives of Brigham Young than a wife of the ailing crippled ne’er do well.
We see this in our bobbysoxers as they go far and pay money to get into screaming ecstasy over some male love song singer whom they don’t mind sharing with each other. Yet, these same girls don’t even notice a dopey kid next door.