Things that make you go hmmm ... Part 2: The missing link

But this is what the American public want to see and it is getting worse every day. There has been a scandal here about contributors to the Clinton’s political campaigns being invited to stay over in the White House as a reward. I see where the ethical issue arises, but compared to Richo’s revelation in his autobiography Whatever it Takes that he would guarantee any contributor of $10, 000 a sit-down meeting with a Minister of their choice it is pretty tame. When the Gores were asked if they would have a similar sleepover policy Al hesitated but Tipper said emphatically "No" then added slyly "I think we can find other things to do at night". Shudder.

The Liebermans try and keep up with shows of marital devotion and Rick Lazio (Hillary Clinton’s opponent in the NY Senate race) and his wife can’t keep their hands off each other. Cameramen practically had to throw themselves to safety when she stampeded to hug him a nano-second after his debate with Hill ended. Maybe these Ivy Leaguers are saving their sexual energies for future public campaigning – look at Bill and Hill, you can’t afford to burn out your passion for each other too young.

What does this mean for Australia? Well for a start we have to admit that we are kind of strange about politics and sex too. We happily tolerated a famous adulterer for years as Prime Minister but when two news celebrities (Stan Grant and Tracey Holmes) started indulging in extra-martial hanky panky the public was so outraged they got fired. Even conservative Americans don’t really care about celebrity fidelity – no one stopped seeing Bruce Willis movies just because he split with Demi Moore amid allegations of cheating on both sides (OK, they did stop watching Demi’s movies, but lately they have really sucked).

The really important difference is this: as with everything in the US, there is a huge gap between reality and rhetoric. We share the obsession with ironic talk and school kids need to be cool instead of passionate. As one of Jed Purdy’s critics put it: "It is one of the advantages of a traditional education that children who suck up to adults too cravenly are methodically cornered and beaten by their peers." And I must admit when I first came here and heard all this high-falutin’ talk there was a part of me that wanted to drag each and very nerdy swat away and bash them up in the toilets. But it is one thing to take yourself too seriously and another to not take broader societal problems seriously enough.

You want to know what Ivy Leaguers do with all their unused sex time? They participate in community service. A lot. The participation rate for community service at the Ivy League college where I work is 96%. Most people I ask haven’t really thought about it – it is just what you do. One student told me that a very common conversational ice-breaker is to ask a classmate what community activities they do. They may not talk the talk here but they really do walk the walk.

The same goes for philanthropy. We don’t have the same level of super-rich in Australia, nor do we have the same level of extreme poverty but we do have rich and we do have poor and there is very little money flowing between them. I am sure the homeless of Sydney would settle for just a tiny percentage of the $400 million that Bill Gates recently donated to US homeless. I am not sure that Kerry Packer’s generous donations to the heart team that saved his life is really quite the same as Bill’s $750 million world health initiatives. But forget about the super rich even – why did a recent spending study find that the top 20 per cent of income-earning households donate only 36 cents a week more to charity than the rest of us?

I am delighted to see that our Olympics volunteers were so successful that their competence and charm is world renowned. I’d love to think that the whole notion of volunteering in non-sport related activities will become reinvigorated. But I have my reservations. Community service is far from being embedded in our culture. I never thought I’d say it, and I know all the hormonally charged university kids are going to hate me, buy maybe for once the US could really teach us a thing or two about our priorities.

This is the second instalment of Kirsten's discussion of sex and politics in Ivy League universities. Part one can be read here.