Let me begin with an apology. The following column may seem inappropriate for a family newspaper especially on a Sunday morning. But this juicy tidbit out of our nation's capital is simply too much to ignore.
Let me begin by saying Washington, D.C., is - in my opinion - not my ideal example of a capital city for the world's greatest nation. It ranks near the top in virtually all crime statistics and near the bottom in education achievement. If this is the best America can produce, we're in sad shape.
Well, in an attempt to curb the high rate of HIV-AIDS in Washington, the city has established distribution sites for free condoms. Literally millions of free condoms have been provided to the Washington population. The high rate of AIDS there is primarily a result of drug users sharing infected needles. They can then pass along the disease through other methods, hence the condom giveaway.
But now we learn this week that the Chinese-made condoms are packaged in cheap paper wrappers and are prone to damage. So demand for the program has declined substantially and health officials are concerned that the bad "rap" on the condoms may harm their efforts to address the AIDS problem.
There's a backup plan however. These groups who distribute the condoms are now turning to their supply of condoms made in India and Japan because of the concern for those made in China.
Let's see, where do I begin?
Does it bother anyone but me when our nation's capital city is concerned that their Chinese-made condoms may not protect their citizens from the high rate of AIDS? Can someone explain how we reached this point in our society's history?
I don't want to sound pessimistic but perhaps American society is not the greatest in the history of mankind. We're led to believe it is. But there is ample evidence to dispute our lofty claims.
Somewhere along the way, I believe we lost sight of what a society should truly be. I can't blame it fully on political correctness but I can blame this slimy decline on the loss of common sense.
I guess we here in the Midwest have a naive innocence or simply turn a blind eye to the absurdities across this great country. To steal an often-used phrase, we've clearly lost our moral compass. Somewhere along the way, I believe we compromised our principles to such an extent that right and wrong have lost their meanings.
I'll end this with a question. When the top story coming out of Washington, D.C., involves defective foreign-made condoms to halt the spread of AIDS, should we be shocked, sickened or saddened? Ponder that as you head to church this Sunday morning.