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plog (what we ponder)
july 2009

WARNING: This is not our typical plog.

jon and kate plus fate

We decided to throw our two cents into the Gosselin's decision to divorce.

I must confess that I've never watched an episode all the way through and short of getting a full frontal lobotomy, can't imagine how I could sit still for a whole show.

I do remember catching part of a beginning episode once when they were talking about their decision to go forward with bringing six children into this world, fully knowing that the children could have long-term special needs and a whole list of other complications.

If I'm not mistaken I believe their reasoning had something to do with their "faith," which I am sure also included a vow like this:

"I, Jon, take you Kate, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part."

Now that we know Jon and Kate have made a decision to divorce, I can't help but think back on the decision they made to bring so many lives into this world. Raising one child is a challenge and even one child can be neglected by two parents.  I can't wrap my mind around having eight, especially six the same age. That incomprehensibility is, I'm sure, what led to the appeal of their show. The appeal was about two people, who for better or worse, decided to take a chance at raising eight children, together! It seemed like quite a responsibility to take on, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Wrong!

Well, now that we all know the news and it is Splitsville for them, I can't help but wonder what happened to their vows? What happened to their faith? What happened to their commitment, if not to each other, to their children?

Sad to say, but this is what is wrong with America and perhaps the world. We don't keep our word, AND the things that we profess to believe in, we really don't. Even when EIGHT children are involved, Jon and Kate can't get beyond their own individual desires and differences.

When our country collapses, it won't come from the outside, but from within. You see, it's not just Jon and Kate who  renege, it is most everyone. And if Jon is some kind of poster boy for modern society that doesn't bode well for the future at all. 

It seems we have become a country of people who will say anything to get what we want, then quickly spin and walk away from our marriages and mortgages. This can't be good for us or our children. Whatever happened to honor? Commitment?

If Jon and Kate bother me, perhaps it is that they are simply reminding me of my own hypocrisy and lack of commitment, perhaps Jon and Kate represent what we have all become.