Why We Were to Blame:

2008 indeed gave many of us a reason to drink. But now with our New Year’s Eve hangovers behind us, it’s probably wise to take a sober look at ’08 to see where we went wrong and how WE may be partially to blame.
What comes to mind is the story of Adam and Eve. After they sinned and ate the forbidden fruit, they hid from God in the Garden of Eden. God soon comes along looking for them and asks, "Where are you?" Now, certainly, God knew where they were—after all, He knows everything.
The question was really meant to inspire self-reflection in them and for all mankind. Where are you in this world? What do you stand for?
In 2008 we were bombarded with headlines, one more shocking than the next. But how many of us did anything about it? How many of us asked ourselves where am I on this issue? Or, how many of us went apathetically into that good night.
Headlines:
Louisiana congressman "Bill" Jefferson was indicted in ’07 on 16 charges related to corruption and yet still ran for office in ’08 even after he was found hiding cold cash in his freezer. How does that happen? Because we let it. Because we care only until a hotter headline hits the papers. Take the case of Detroit’s mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who was caught in an affair with his chief of staff and then also admitted to perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office. And then he proclaimed that he was ready to make a comeback. Do we let him, or do we teach generation NEXT that actions have consequences?
And then when we thought it couldn’t get any better, we learned of another who couldn’t keep his fruit in the loom.Eliot Spitzer once called the hammer of Wall Street went down the wrong street, dropped his pants, and went from being governor to client No. 9. Now he, too, wants to reemerge into public consciousness—albeit without his yankee doodling dandy. Do we let him?
But these stories faded into oblivion when the 18 million cracks in Hillary’s famous glass ceiling came crashing down on her head after the liberal media--the supposed arbiters of fairness--turned on her and turned Obama into a messiah.Then a long came a plumber who did the dirty job the media wouldn’t dare to do: He asked a question. Did we lambaste the media for bias? Cancel subscriptions?
Then who can forget Reverand Wright, the Reverand who blatantly damned this country before millions and got away with it. Where was our outrage? That same reverand called Elizabeth Hassleback from The View "a dumb broad" and a "dizzy blond.” Where were the feminist groups to damn those sexist remarks? And then our president- elect who sat in an America damning church for 20 years also got away with it. I don’t find it a stretch to say, “If you’re in the pew, you share the view!” But that being said, I do take umbrage with Rush Limbaugh who said he does not wish Obama good luck. It reminds me of Golda Meir when she said there will be peace in the Middle East when the Arabs love their kids more than they hate Israelis. I think Limbaugh has to remember how much more he loves this country and its citizens than he hates liberals. You can’t wish the passengers a good flight while wishing for the pilot to crash.
But leaving Reverand Wrong,, hey what’s a few little hate sermons compared to a governor who allegedly tried to sell a senate seat. Governor Blagoyevich-- I’m just relieved that it clearly says “goy” in his name; I’d hate to see a Jew caught up in that one. But even with clouds hanging over his bad hairdo, he still got away with appointing a junior senator. Where were our voices? Where was our outrage?
And then there was Bernie Madoff who made off with everyone’s money and shows zero remorse. Now this Scum Dog Millionaire is out on bail under house arrest in his Park Avenue penthouse. If that’s the price of crime, please do me a favor and arrest me now.
And then, after oh so many financial institutions got their massive bailout, still no one could get a loan. The vaunted TARP funds are MIA.—and their executives aren’t even under house arrest, perhaps too busy going on their luxury vacations and counting their bonuses while the man on Main Street is singing, “Hey mister, can you spare a dime?”
How are we to blame? Because we I-tune out and let these outrages entertain us and corrupt us from headline to headline.
When these outrages happen, we need to form the same line outside of Congress that we form outside of Wal-Mart on black Friday. We have to let our voices be heard: Vote, blog, write to a senator, call the White House, picket, rally, volunteer. We have to fight back because when these wrongdoers do wrong they drive us all out of Eden.
I heard a slogan once for an insurance company that I really liked. It said, “It’s your future—BE THERE.
So in such chaotic times when in despair we turn to God and ask Him, "Oh, dear God, where are you?" perhaps the better question was asked by God Himself a long, long time ago, "Where are YOU?"