Thursday, February 15, 2007

The Problem of Skin

Anyone looking for commentary on the Army sergeant posing nude for Playboy should move on. This is about the thickness of skin in major organizations around the world today. Two bloggers quit the Edwards Presidential campaign because of prior “anti-Catholic” postings. If you can’t take a shot at an organization that took well over 300 years to clear Galileo’s name for being right about the Earth revolving around the Sun, who can you poke fun at?

Leaders today seem very thin skinned. The Scooter Libby trial showed a hyper vigilant White House willing to use low blows to discredit anyone who challenged their version of reality. Yet those same leaders expect others to have a very thick skin. After calling the Democrats tax loving criticizers with no strategy (other than second guessing), President Bush said after the November elections, “we love America equally, that we’re concerned about the future of the country and that we will do our very best to address big problems.” How many of those tax loving, strategically inept potshotters will find a way to work with Mr. Bush?

The Catholic Church seems equally out of step with its followers as our current U.S. administration. The Pope and the President can dish it out, but need legions of minions to rise to their aid when “attacked”. When the church suggested stillborn babies spend the afterlife in limbo, countless grieving mothers are less than comforted. And the reason is a holy man failed to conduct a baptismal ceremony? Since when is God limited by man? When did the Pope talk with God about this issue or did he observe it during his weekend cruise through our afterlife options?

The problem with thick or thin skin is not limited to the Bush administration or the Catholic Church. It comes down to my thin skin on your comments vs. the thick skin you should wear on mine. That’s the state of the epidermis in today’s world…

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