Time for a culture change

Just when you think you've heard it all.

According to a WBIR-TV news report (link is above), a Crossville, Tenn., woman was arrested for leaving her sleeping two-year-old child alone in a running car for 15-20 minutes. Guess what the mother was doing?

Lying in a tanning bed.

Investigators were quoted as saying the amount of time was long enough for the child to suffer from heatstroke or carbon monoxide poisoning. The mother said she didn't want to wake her child because she was afraid she would be "fussy."

But apparently it's OK to risk killing her. Just as long as you aren't bothered while getting your fake tan.

It's hard to imagine a mother being able to do something like this. Have we drifted so far from the shore in this country that life has become this cheap?

Yesterday, a co-worker was telling me about an incident that happened at a local gas station. Two motorists got into a shouting match over a vacant parking space. Threats were issued. Verbal assaults were exchanged.

OK, I'll admit it. I've suffered from road rage in the past. I think at some level, it's natural. Then you read about a shooting that started as a driving-related incident and suddenly it's all put into perspective.

I hope this woman learns her lesson. I hope she holds tightly to that child, loves her a little bit more and never, ever does anything like this again.

And here's hoping, too, that somehow, some way, we can trigger a culture change in this country.

We're talking about life here, folks.