Does "Common" make it "OK"?

Sometimes, when I'm reading something in the media, I catch myself wondering if anyone else out there still shakes their head in disbelief about the things we accept in our culture. Does anything shock us? I'm not sure anymore...

Take a story I read on AOL today. There is some fabulously wealthy German heiress who made a sex tape with her lover, and then the lover tried to blackmail her with the tape. As I was reading the article, I was thinking about how foolish this woman was to get snarled up in that kind of thing in the first place, but then I saw what great lengths she went to to try to keep the press from getting a hold of the tape. (It really gave her a sense of purpose, I guess, to use every legal means available to cover up her horrible choice - and maybe that's why she did the tape in the first place!! But that's just a guess on my part!!)

But the article that I read was an editorial, so the author shared his perspective on how this woman could avoid more drama around this sex tape scandal. His advice was simple: just let the cat out of the bag, give the media a copy of the tape, and then go on Barbra Walters and present your mea culpa. This would show everyone how sorry you are, and tell them what you've learned, and once that is over, you can just get on with your life. The author goes on to say that this plan is obvious because after all, sex tapes are really quite common, and no one is really all that outraged by them anymore anyway.

Oyi! That sentiment went down like a lead sinker in my heart because it calls into question everything about our morality and our sensistivity to what is right and wrong. It basically sets up a standard that just because it happens all the time means it's OK!

The thing is, I'm convicted by this concept because I have to consider all of the things in my life that I let slip by because I have no sensitivity to it any longer. I have to acknowledge that there are literally hundreds of things I probably just accept by saying, "Yep... That's just how things go..."

I had lunch with a lovely new friend, and we both have a passion for wanting to make things better for women - especially the women in this world that are still young girls and have their whole lives ahead of them. As the two of us talked, we reasoned that we probably won't be able to change much about the world around us, but we can certainly aim to inspire change. And I do really agree with this notion for the most part, but I guess with this newly added layer of thoughts in the mix, I think it's going to take a little more effort on my part to see the world around me with sensitive eyes and a softened heart.

Well, as my dad pointed out ages ago, you have to apply some frog logic. The frog that starts out in a pot of water on top of the stove will boil to death because he continues to acclaimate to the rising heat. But a frog that stays outside the pot of water will never acclaimate to the temperature, giving it the ability to know the scald of boiling water on frog legs. I just pray that I will always feel the heat, and never let something common become OK!