HOW LOW CAN WE GO?

I am fearing for the nation today. So much injustice. So many people wrong, So many people on the right side of every issue or subject. So how are we setting the bar so incredibly low?

The Casey Anthony Trial

A tragedy as horrendous as the death of a child should not be the best thing on television. This is not a matter of national good or public safety. It is morbid curiosity and sadly salacious. Was it necessary for the entire nation to see everyone cry on camera and claim some or none or the responsibility for this child?

A trial that determines the guilt or innocence of a parent accused of killing their child should not be entertainment. It should not be an event that requires tickets and media coverage from around the country if not the world. This is not what John Adams had in mind when he defended the British soldiers held responsible for the "Boston Massacre". Adams practiced what he believed the justice system offered. An opportunity to defend yourself to your peers. Not to the public at large or strangers who just want to be part of all the excitement. Cameras in the courtroom make a mockery of justice.  Releasing all the details to the public prior to the trial makes impartial justice impossible.

Let's not give in the circus of spectacle. Let's try the old, "innocent until proven guilty" instead of "guilty if the media says so". Even the late night comics use the trial in their monologues. Dead children should not provide a set up or punch line to a joke.

It happens all the time.

We as a nation love to see people fall. Look at how we gossip about everyone else's problems. I do it, you do it and we love it unless we personally happen to be the topic of conversation. We should learn to keep our mouths shut and worry about our own lives and our own issues. Any yahoo with a problem can become a national sensation and topic of conversation. Octomom, Balloon Boy, Susan Smith, Darlie Routier, Andrea Yates, Kevin Federline, Levi Johnston, Bristol Palin, Paris Hilton, All Kardashians, Lindsay Lohan, etc. Misbehave and be a star! Kill someone and we will remember your name forever! Be accused of something criminal and we will drool and rub our hands together waiting for the next piece of dirt.

Personally we disgust me.

What scares me is that we are now a nation of voyeurs. We used to be a nation of innovators, creative people with ideas and inventions.  America was the example to the world of a cultured and civilized society. Now we are simply morons who willingly tie ourselves to whatever is sensational through all forms of media and communication. We aren't touched by the sad and inhumane. We are like Pavlov's dogs for sensationalism. Tell us... we have to know. No, we don't.

Let's try empathy. Would you want your family or friends hounded by the nation because of something heart breaking and unbelievably devastating? Would you want your entire life and behavior on display to be judged? Could you pass the court of public opinion?

Judge not lest ye be judged. I am trying. Won't you?

You're Welcome,
Lillybell Blues