Confusion

What's happening in America?  I'm not one to watch a lot of news or TV shows.  Literally, I get 7 channels and I have an antenna that sits on my windowsill.  Other than a short addiction to "So You Think You Can Dance," I never watch reality TV.  Recently, there has been a plethora of stories on TV that have just blown my mind:  an advertisement for a new show called "Dance Moms", a pet shop releasing an official statement that they will no longer allow people to purchase a puppy when drunk, finding out that Sonic and Burger King are selling alcohol, hearing about a 12 year old boy beating his toddler brother to death. . . I'm in shock and I'm really scared.

When did it become accepted to yell at children and push them until they cry?  What happens to the little girl whose mother tells her she's fat at eight years old?  Would someone actually sell a puppy to a drunk person?  What would that transaction look like?  Not only does most of America eat too much greasy processed food but now we are going to serve them a beer with that dinner?  A Whopper and a beer should be saved for those very special occasions when we are in Vegas.  What really happened to make a tween kill his brother?  Where were their parents?

I don't understand any of this.  I can debate why we might be where we are.  I can analyze situations from different perspectives and look at opposing sides.  However, somewhere deep inside me I am truly flabbergasted.  Where are our morals?  What happened to human values?  After hearing about a horrible rape of a baby, I found myself praying to God.  I asked him to keep all children safe and when I realized how juvenile my prayer was, I started to get very angry with Him.  I just don't understand how we can hurt each other so horribly.  It just isn't right.  It occurred to me that He is probably just as sad as I am.  It isn't Him doing any of this.  It is us.         

I am a social worker and as jaded as I am, I still want to save the world.  I wish that all children are loved and respected, the mentally ill and substance-addicted receive the treatment that they need, homeless individuals and families find shelter, the unhappy find happiness, animals are treated with compassion, no one ever has to feel lonely and people learn to embrace the important things in life.