Why do we Amur'kins lap up stories like this one so hungrily? I would suggest that folk like Mr. Paterno, and the young mother whose name I can't recall who drowned her kids in the back seat of a car sent into a lake, are actually meeting a real need: our need to feel morally superior to someone. Here am I, Mr. Everyone. No matter what my flaws and weaknesses might be, I can still think: "At least I'm not Sandusky! At least I'm not McQuery! At least I'm not Paterno!"
"At least," indeed. That's getting to be a pretty low "least," don'tcha think?
4 comments:
Of course it's low. But it's silly to expect non-Christians to compare themselves to Jesus, which is the only standard that matters.
Yup ... it's always much more fun to look down than up. Trouble is, as we get worse and worse, it's more and more difficult to find a freakish villain who can give us a satisfactory "down" angle of view.
Reminds me of a part of a parable:
"The Joe 6-Pack American stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—Sandusky, Weiner, Madoff—or even like those Islamic terrorists. I'm a nice guy and don't kill or rape anyone.’
I don't recall him walking away justified.
Excellent, Cal -- I should've been reminded of that one myself. Thanks!
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