Godless Mom in the Bible Belt

Last week while sitting at a red light, I wasn't paying attention and my van rolled into the car in front of me. No one was hurt and the damage was very minimal. Well, yesterday I got the bill. $483.00. Ouch. They sure know how to charge for a stupid piece of fiberglass.

Well, when I got the news I was busy fretting about where I was going to dig up the money and Liz could tell I was upset. She is so sweet, she immediately came to my defense and became angry at the people who were fixing the damaged car.

I told her that I had made a mistake and that it was important that I take responsibility for it. I had damaged someone's property and I needed to make certain it was repaired. I told her it was important that we try NOT to make mistakes but that occasionally we all do and when that happens we must do everything in our power to make amends.

After our conversation I started wondering whether the lesson I had just tried to teach my daughter would really be demonstrated to her in real life.

Case in point:

Am I alone in thinking that a national policy of torturing prisoners is a mistake? Does Bush not see that we will reap what we sow on this one? He and his cronies like to hold the USA up like it is some shining light of freedom, democracy and justice. He pulls out the apple and shows it to the world, but just inside the skin of that bright red fruit is maggot infested flesh.

They give up Lyndie Englund and her cohorts like sacrificial lambs while the real masterminds of this sub-human policy are still running the show. You can be certain there will be no "taking responsibility for our mistakes" on this one. Bush, Rumsfeld and Gonzales will go on their merry way while our soldiers who are unfortunate enough to be taken prisoner while in Iraq and Afghanistan will feel the repercussions of the administration's misdeeds.

We as a nation have the potential for such greatness. It is too bad we are being governed by greed and even worse that most of us are too blinded by patriotism to know any better.

My daughter has a bright mind and a good heart, I can only hope that she will hold herself to a higher standard than our own president does.