Where are we headed?

"A snowball headed for hell..."

For some reason, the words from a classic Merl Haggard song pop into my mind this morning.  Since I last wrote, so many mind-numbing things have taken place that give me pause to ask the question all over again: Where are we headed? The answer(s) that one could come up with don't offer much hope or lend any credence to the belief that it's best to look on the bright side of things; stay positive; don't worry, be happy, and on and on and on... 

The very bizarre situation at Penn State is the most recent sickening turn of events, following on the heals of turmoil in the world (the collapse of economies in Greece and Italy), the Occupy Wall Streeters, the Herman Cain issue, the volatile state of Iran, and all of the vitriol being spewed forth by both sides of the political scene. As I write, I feel more twisted and confused about the way of the world than I have in a long time. It seems that the more people say they want to make the world a better place for us all, the worse it seems to become.

In one quick desperate move, the Penn State Board of Trustees yesterday elected to oust Coach Joe Paterno because of his failure to "do more" in the sordid, sickening sex abuse scandal that has exploded onto the scene. Who would have thought that this would ever be the way that this iconic football coach for 46 years at PSU would exit a long and glorious career? The actions of one sick and trusted underling brought this all about, and Paterno's own failure to have more awareness to what was actually going on around his program, caught up with him in the end. Here was a guy who allegedly "did things right," and we believed this all these years. Maybe he became a bit too ensconced in his own image that he never could see the little things that added up to a grim and gruesome scene. 

If this can happen to a seemingly "squeaky clean" coach and program, I ask again: Where are we headed?

And with the words of Merl still resonating in my mind, I travel a road of uncertainty and confusion on this cold November morning, thinking that we all might be "rolling down hill like a snowball headed for hell"...MLA