MuskogeePhoenix.com, Muskogee, OK

Opinion

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July 3, 2009

Maybe greed led to economic downfall

State Rep. Sally Kern can say what she wants, but her logic is dreadful.

Kern, R-Oklahoma City, gained national attention last year when she suggested that homosexuality is a greater threat to the United States than terrorism.

Thursday, she promoted her Oklahoma Citizen’s Proclamation for Morality, a document she said she wants Oklahomans to endorse. The proclamation states that the country’s economic woes are a result of the country’s “greater national moral crisis” and she lists many moral failings.

Kern’s proclamation, however, fails to recognize that greed and laziness had anything to do with America’s failed investment companies, housing bust and high unemployment.

Instead, she blames “debauchery” and the current president for recognizing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month. Homosexuality, of course, is her pet moral crisis.

But if Kern wants to promote moral decency and family stability, maybe she ought to start with a few members of her political party.

Some will say that’s a cheap shot, but sadly, it’s true. Usually, the people who condemn the loudest should take care of their house first. The old adage is still true: Those who lead best, lead by example.

So we don’t oppose righteousness, just some of the boisterous self-righteousness that is often proclaimed now.

But again, America protects Kern’s right to make all the proclamations she wants, just as it protects those who don’t agree with her. Her proclamation is not law. It’s only her opinion, and it’s up to the people of Oklahoma to decide what they make of her message.

It’s our view that if she was addressing the causes of America’s economic crisis, she missed the mark.

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