I am deeply saddened, more so than ever before, by the news that's coming out of Iraq these days. I'm having trouble even mentally processing the reports of abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison. How to make sense of this?
One troubling aspect is that the apparent abominable behavior of some American troops should cast a dark shadow on all of them...young men and women who need our prayers and support probably more than ever.
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council has issued a statement on the prisoner abuse controversy. Says Perkins: "The latest fallout from the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by members of the U.S. military is not political but rather further acts of terror against innocent Americans." Perkins cites the public execution of 26-year-old Nick Berg as an example.
He goes on to say: "The liberal media continues to seize upon the abuse of Iraqi prisoners and this latest act of terror in an effort to damage the Bush administration. But, it is ridiculous to suggest that the Bush administration or military boot camps are responsible for teaching our young soldiers this behavior.
"As Chuck Colson pointed out at FRC's inaugural Pastors' Briefing yesterday, when you mix young people who grew up on a steady diet of MTV and pornography with a prison environment, you get the abuse at Abu Ghraib.
"America is in a perilous situation. In the eyes of the Muslims we are the enemy because we are Christian, but in many areas of our culture, our conduct as a nation is anything but Christian."
As for me, I will continue to pray for the troops, and for our president. I believe they need it more than ever.
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On a lighter note...
LATOYA GOT ROBBED!
25-year-old Latoya London was easily, in my opinion, the most gifted vocalist on American Idol, with the most potential for stardom. I simply cannot believe that she got voted off.
A lion's share of the blame has to go to the sharp-tongued, bordering-on-sadistic Simon Cowell. Cowell really overdid it with the nasty-spirited criticism of Jasmine Trias on Tuesday night...saying that Hawaiians would need five telephones in each household to keep Hawaain-native Trias in the competition. Jasmine dissolved into tears, and I'm sure that was all the rallying cry her native state, and a lot of other people, needed to give her their vote.
But the truth is, as sweet as Jasmine appears to be, she is simply not the vocalist that Latoya, Fantasia (or Jennifer Hudson, for that matter) are.
Honestly, I doubt if I'll watch the show for the rest of the season now. Fantasia's good, but I don't enjoy the sound of her voice as I did Latoya's and Jennifer's. Diana DeGarmo just yells a lot. And Jasmine has been almost painful to listen to lately. If either she or Diana wins, I think it will seriously damage the credibility of the whole competition.
Of course, Latoya probably has a nice recording contract in the offing even as we speak, and justifiably so...which is probably why she could still smile during last night's travesty.
Does any of this matter in the grand scheme of life? Of course not. But without the fluff of life, we would be hard pressed to deal with the sad, the shocking and the burdensome aspects of life. So, viva la fluff.
Mmmm...speaking of the simple pleasures of life. My first cup of coffee of the day, generously laced with Coffee Mate's Cinnamon Vanilla Creme creamer. Ahhh.....:)
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