Prostitution makes victims of us all

We are often told prostitution is a victimless crime, an act between two consenting adults who enter into a verbal contract for mutual benefit.

One receives sexual gratification while the other is rewarded with money often shared with the pimp who brought them together.

The outrage and glee we heard with the Spitzer episode has less to do with sex as with the hypocrisy and arrogance of a man who built his success prosecuting those who were guilty of similar offenses.

No victims so far, just another high-profile zealot who got caught when the lights went on.

But what of the little children whose first glimpse of God was found in the strong arms of a man they called "Daddy?" Does the crushing disillusionment not shape their future attitudes toward men, husbands and marriage vows?

What of the wives and mothers who are discarded on the curb with only their humiliation, broken hearts and possibly sexually transmitted diseases?

And those prostitutes, once little girls or boys who trusted the adult world with innocent eyes and hopeful expectations reduced now through enticement or force to mere toys for the enjoyment of others? Weren't we created to be loved not used? I think of their parents who may be laying awake at night wondering if they somehow were the cause of it all.

The cost is endless and unknowable as our heroes, role models and political leaders in whom we place our trust, betray not only their spouses, children and friends, but an entire community of supporters who long for examples of honor, character and fidelity.

To the extent that one of us falls, we are all diminished. We are all victims.

Gerald Wester

Mount Prospect