This is a tough one to write… but it has to be said.<\/p>\n
Yesterday’s Oak Ridger<\/a> featured a story of a young marine preparing to leave for Iraq, just days after the birth of his first child. Today’s News-Sentinel<\/a> carries a front-page, above the fold photo of the same young marine, with his newborn son and girlfriend.<\/p>\n I deeply, sincerely hope that this young man comes home safely, and soon.<\/p>\n I also wish that, for the sake of this new baby, that he would marry the baby’s mother before he goes — to give the child the benefit of his name, to provide some security for the baby’s future should the peril of war take its toll.<\/p>\n Perhaps I am wrong, but my instinct is to chastise both newspapers for glorifying this little family that seems to have forgotten something terribly important: the paperwork. Marriage, commitment, and security. How many teenagers read these two papers and came away with the only tragedy is that the Marine has been called to war so early in fatherhood?<\/p>\n I desperately hope that the young mother pictured never has to tell her son that his father gave his life for his country… but couldn’t give his name for his child.<\/p>\n Other people’s lives are none of my business, but the media has a role in upholding the standards of society. Do we have any left?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is a tough one to write… but it has to be said. Yesterday’s Oak Ridger featured a story of a young marine preparing to leave for Iraq, just days after the birth of his first child. Today’s News-Sentinel carries … Continue reading