Why do we assume that intellectuals and geniuses seldom give much thought to sex?   Animals have sex.  Even plants have sex.  It’s a basic, instinctual process,  requiring little or no  intelligence.  If not controlled, it can cause disastrous consequences like STDs and unwanted pregnancy.   Therefore, many regard sex as shameful and dirty.  The Catholic Church doesn’t think very highly of sex. As a result,  they require celibacy in their priests.  We all know how that’s worked out. Nevertheless, we still assume that brilliant and/or spiritual people have their minds on loftier pursuits.  That’s why our initial reaction to the Bill and Melinda  Gates divorce was, ” Oh no–not Bill Gates!”  Turns out  he’s more interested in sex than we imagined. 

After watching a television interview with Bill and Melinda Gates about a year ago, I had the feeling things weren’t going too well in that marriage.  It was all about their devotion to some worthy cause .  However,   I noticed Melinda kept upstaging Bill, answering questions for him, and taking up more space in the interview.  Surprisingly, he seemed amused at her effort to outshine him, and made no effort to assert himself.

Now, we’ve learned that he was a friend of the notorious pedophile/billionaire Epstein, who committed suicide in prison. Bill’s biographer also revealed that in his bachelor days, he enjoyed nude pool parties with strippers.  And, while married to Melinda,  he hit on female journalists who interviewed him.  Oh no–not Bill!  Yes, it seems the super-human god-like hero we admired  was just like any other horny male.  Except, his money and position helped  cover it up.  Newspapers,  politicians, and charities  weren’t about to jeopardize the benefits that he sent their way.

Then, of course, we have  the strange  looking CEO of Amazon,  Jeff Bezos,  who left his smart  pretty wife for a gaudy glamor girl who bragged about the nude pictures he texted her.  Let’s see. Who do we have left?  Jack Dorsey of Twitter is single, and Mark  Zuckerberg of Facebook seems to be in a pretty solid marriage.   Elon Musk , owner of  Tesla,   has a baby Momma, and says he has Asperger’s. You just never know.  These are the men who have a major influence on our elections because they are rich, famous, and very smart. But should we really respect their opinions and allow them to shape our society?