"I didn't vote for him, but he's my president, and I hope he does a good job." ~John Wayne
When my oldest daughter was a senior in high school she hit a parked car. She didn't mean to but was in a hurry and wasn't watching where she was going. She called me, crying, asking what she should do. Should she leave? Should she acknowledge what she had done by leaving a note on the car? She was panicked. Instead of telling her what I would do I asked her what she thought she should do.
I was absolutely proud of her response. She told me that she was going to leave a note for the driver under the windshield wiper blade. She told me she was responsible and that by leaving the note she would be taking the high road...doing what was right.
The owner of the car called our home later that day. She wasn't happy that her new VW had been smashed but she was grateful that the note had been left for her. It turned out she was a teacher and was friends with one of my daughter's teachers. Such a small world.
My daughter had to empty out her savings account to pay for the damages she caused. She had to work extra hard the following year to replenish her savings account before she headed off to college.
When I heard that our President had commuted Scooter Libby's sentence earlier this week I thought of my daughter. She did the right thing. We all mostly try to do the right thing. I am outraged that our President is not doing the right thing. How can we teach our future generations to do the right things when the most powerful person on the planet refuses to uphold the law?
Today is our cherished independence day. The day we celebrate our freedom, our democracy, our separation from the King of England. We celebrate being Americans. But this dark cloud of dishonesty and lawlessness hangs over our heads. Keith Olbermann says it best.
A sense of justice is just not enough.
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