WASHINGTON D.C. —Between the latest Catholic priest scandals, the arrests of alleged domestic terrorists in the Midwest and the signing of the health care bill, you’d think the world was about to come to an end. Perhaps these three events are a wake up call to Americans who are concerned with the state of the nation and our uncertain future.

The Catholic Church has avoided for years a direct assault on its morality. There has been mishandling and outright corruption on which they relied to protect pedophile priests and to pay off as few victims of sexual abuse as possible. They waited out the clock watching other victims fall into despair and many have died of old age or suicide. The fact is that the Church has decades of recorded history in this matter and it never once put children before the well-being and protection of these men who violated our trust. This is not only shameful, but hopefully in the U.S. there will be new laws against such cover-ups.

America was founded on religious freedom, so no matter what happens to young boys and girls who fall victim to the Catholic priests who are pedophiles or pre-teen girls in the southwest who are forced to become child brides at the hands of a sect in the Mormon church that remains outside of the mainstream Mormon faith, or the young boys who are pushed out of their homes because older men don’t want to compete with them for the young brides, American lawmakers will remain hesitant about enforcing laws to protect children who find themselves at the hands of unethical church leaders no matter the faith. All while we pretend to be mortified by the behavior of Muslims toward women and young boys and girls around the world.

As for the alleged terrorists who were plotting to kill a police officer in Missouri and then planned to assault, bomb and murder many funeral goers to cause a war with the U.S. Government, the rhetoric of not only Sarah Palin and her Tea Party members has been a factor in all of this anti government militia growth we’ve seen since the 2008 election. Perhaps those of us who enjoy the Internet so well, should be mindful of what we forward around to others and make sure it is in either good humor or for educational and instructional purposes and not to fan the flames of hatred in hopes of a different outcome in the 2010 midterm elections a few months away. Many people have forgotten the treacherous nature our nation found itself for nearly a century after the civil war, when people used lynching and political assassinations to accomplish their goals in the 1960s. Perhaps Americans of a certain age have forgotten the reign and tyranny of Nazi Germany, and how close we ourselves have come to a similar fate simply because we didn’t like or agree with politics at the time.

Lastly, but certainly not least, for those of us who disagree with this health care bill, it’s time to figure out how we get out of this situation. It’s not the time to threaten people, spit on them or call them racial epithets. For we find ourselves at a crossroads in this nation. With talking heads like Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity and Olberman chanting a mantra of hatred from the right and the left, we are people who are much more intelligent than any of these hate mongers whose financial wealth is dependent on hatred and the spreading of false information. Just as Limbaugh claimed he’d leave the country if health care passed and he’s not left yet. Americans need to get back to the basics, stop listening to hours of hate speech on talk radio and cable news stations that pride themselves on preaching hate and start to inform ourselves of the issue and find a way to defeat the issues we disagree with sanely and with dignity. Our founding fathers would be mortified if they were here to see how uninformed we have become and how we are political robots, going for the party faithful. It’s no wonder the leaders of both parties are the people they are; look at who you have become.

Thankfully our soldiers are our strongest and best citizens. They remain on the front lines fighting for our freedom and our security. They are the best of us, not those rambling right and left wing talking heads we’ve all become accustomed to hearing and believing. A special congratulations to Justin Singer who graduated from basic training on Friday and love and prayers to all of his friends and comrades at the Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. Please stay safe, and know you are always in our daily prayers.