A Higher Standard

I have always believed that when there is trouble in a relationship or a culture that I must ask, “Is it I?” It is always so easy and natural to want to blame someone else; but time and time again I realize I am a big part of the problem and if I want things to change, I have to hold myself to a higher standard and I have to change.

I usually just want to call out my own sins but I want to speak out about a need for universal higher standards. I look around and want all of us to take personal responsibility and be held to a higher standard, especially when there is trouble in a society. 

I am sad and frustrated about the example of those in public office and newscasters who aren’t holding themselves to a higher standard. Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon have justifiably expected our current president to be held to a higher standard, but then I was gravely disappointed as I watched these same newscasters ignore the professionalism of their role and behave in what I deem reckless behavior on New Years Eve. I can’t for a millisecond imagine the respected newscasters of the past, such as Walter Cronkite, getting inebriated on the air. 

As Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon have repeatedly and justifiably held our president to the higher standards of past presidents, I simply ask them to embrace the higher standards of past newscasters as well. We all have a responsibility to take a hard look at ourselves and assess whether we are contributing to the social problems and the social climate of our day. Drunkenness simply doesn’t benefit our society.