Miss Kim
English 10(2)
30 September 2009
Ted Haggard is a former pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Haggard had condemned homosexual sex in his years of preaching. But in November of 2006 Ted resigned from all of his leadership positions when rumor got out about his relationship with another man. The CNN newscast speech discussed how past prostitute, Mike Jones, accused the pastor of paying him for sex for over three years. Jones also announced Haggard's usage and purchasing of methamphetamine. Ted confessed in interviews of getting a massage from Jones. Although, he never admitted to having sex with Jones.Haggard intends to receive sympathy from his audience by using words that imply that he was hurt by what was occurring in his life. Ted wants people to be able to relate to him and feel as if what he did was okay and that others can go through the same thing he did. In the CNN news report, Haggard lamented "'I think I'm still deeply wounded and scarred and somewhat confused'"(Ted Haggard paragraph 4). Haggard shows his true feelings and how he was greatly affected. He reaches out to his audience to grab their attention and get them to feel sympathy for him. Other homosexuals could go through the same thing during their life and i think that Haggard addressed this to relate to other people out there. Therefore creating a sympathetic feel towards himself.
Overall, I believe Ted Haggard had good intentions and a good ethos. Throughout the situation he was very truthful and seemed passionate about what he was admitting. Haggard was going through a very confusing time in his life. I think that it's perfectly normal to explore your sexuality and Ted Haggard did exactly that. I don't believe what he did was wrong. I am sure it was very embarrassing and painful for his personal life to be shown to the public. For many this event could be very traumatic, but Haggard took the situation pretty well.
