A Nation of Lookie Loos

Liberals may think they are being overwhelmed by those "radical" right-wing conservatives, but they are still leaving their mark on this country. And, of course, it's a negative mark. It seems that the liberal penchant for sticking their nose into everyone else's business has spread through the entire population. We have become a nation of gossips. Last Tuesday, Jennifer Wilbanks, for whatever reason, panicked and hopped a bus headed west, four days before her huge wedding. The family notified authorities, and the authorities and local populace went into full-bore search mode. I don't know whether that is standard operating procedure for the Duluth, Georgia police, whether the family is so politically connected that it sparked all that activity, or whether recent high-profile kidnappings and murders affected people to react as they did. Whatever the reason, there was not a whit of evidence that something criminal had taken place and that is one of the reasons I did not comment on it here. Flash forward to early Saturday morning. Since I'm the only one in the newsroom who watches Fox News, I was the first to hear that the wayward bride-to-be had turned up in Albuquerque. Fox was all over this story. And since they were fair and balanced and did not immediately jump on the fiancée as a possible murderer, the family gave them access that no other network got. Immediately, writers here started writing and editors started editing and I just sat. Over my objections, they released a story that Jennifer had been kidnapped and had escaped in Albuquerque. Less than an hour later, they had to kill the story. No egg on my face. And today, the story has become the centerpiece of every talk show on radio and TV. It seems that 79% of the country thinks this woman should be punished somehow. When did this become such a nation of busybodies? Why do people think they have the right to stick their nose into everyone's business? Is this another sign of the further sissification of our country? People who don't know this woman and will never meet her think she should be prosecuted. People who don't live in that town and will never visit, think she owes the police force $100,000. What does this mean? Things like this happen every day in this country. Kids go to visit friends or to the mall rather than straight home after school. Wives go home to mother. Parents and husbands report them missing. Police search. The people turn up. Does this mean that police should present parents with a bill or jail people every time they go missing? Does this mean that nobody is free to just take off anymore -- that we should all wear ankle bracelets so our families and the government can keep track of our whereabouts every minute of every day? Does this mean that stupidity has finally become a crime? Quick! Lock up all the liberals!! And now, instead of thinking that the fiancée is a murderer, people think he's a total idiot for still wanting to marry her. How sad that so many people in this country don't understand, or don't remember what it's like to so deeply love someone that they are your entire universe and you would forgive them almost anything. I lost a fiancée four years ago to cold feet. It was like losing my family in a plane crash. I still grieve my loss. But to this day, if she wanted to come back, I'd forgive her. So, call me stupid too. But I'd rather you just mind your own business. And that's my last word on this story. Because, it's none of my business.