Sanford, Farrah, & Michael

The week of June 22, 2009 will long be remembered as one of the strangest on record. First, the Governor of South Carolina revealed a multi-year affair in Argentina. Before the ink was even dry on that story, word came down that 70s icon Farrah Fawcett had lost her 3-year battle with cancer. Then, news of the death of Michael Jackson pushed the Farrah story aside.

Crazy.

As I processed each of these stories, a common thread started to reveal itself: The necessity of community. Sanford's extramarital affair likely doomed his 2012 presidential aspirations. But, it was born in secrecy, deception, and hiding. Farrah's entire career after "the poster" and Charlie's Angels was a search for significance beyond beauty and body (if you haven't seen Robert Duval's The Apostle, you should; Farrah's talent and abilities beyond her appearance are on full display.) And, Michael Jackson's life began its bizarre unraveling when he chose to isolate himself and remove all reason and accountability.

Univsersal transparency is not the answer. Universal authenticity is. It's in our best interest as people to be authentic with everyone and transparent with a precious few. "The world" does not always have our best interests and development at heart, so to bare our souls (even on Facebook or Twitter!) is unwise to say nothing of somewhat narcissistic.

But that is why real community, true accountability, is in our own best interest. It keeps us honest. It tells us the truth even when it's what we need to hear and not what we want to hear. It's real. It works.