I adore Katie Couric. There, I've said it. Why does life feel like one coming out process after another? I fell in love with her when I heard her speak at the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association Conference in 1999. There I saw the whip-smart journalist more than the excellent woman to wake up with. I Tivo the CBS News and love what she is doing with it, making complex information and ideas real for people, not over simplifying them. Using the medium of television, admittedly confining in a commercial setting, not to showcase one point of view, but to highlight diverse perspectives.

In this way she reminds us what it is to be American, to be able and willing to understand different points of view, imagine ourselves walking a mile in someone else's pumps (love the legs, love the shoes, love the seating areas away from the desk, the walk, the jeans in her online notebook, and ABSOLUTELY LOVE the sitting on the desk pose for lighter news).

Two nights ago during one of the nightly "Free Speech"[img_assist|nid=870|title=Brian Rohrbough on CBS News|desc=(click to watch)|link=none|align=right|width=237|height=193] segments, the father of a Columbine victim blamed the recent Pennsylvania Amish and Bailey, Colorado school shootings, on abortion. In part he said:

This country is in a moral free-fall. For over two generations, the public school system has taught in a moral vacuum, expelling God from the school and from the government, replacing him with evolution, where the strong kill the weak, without moral consequences and life has no inherent value.

We teach there are no absolutes, no right or wrong. And I assure you the murder of innocent children is always wrong, including by abortion. Abortion has diminished the value of children.

On some level, I agree that there is a coarseness, an uptight, angry, repressed from oppressing energy palpable right now. It seems the logical evolution of the Angry White Males who put current leadership in power in 1994, leading to The Error of W, who are all now caught up in myriad lies, cover-ups and scandals. How increasing freedom, civil rights, promoting liberty and privacy, and honoring God-given free will are responsible for a moral free-fall escapes me. But I respect the father's beliefs and his experience, asking only that those who believe like him do the same in return.

Most importantly, what I love about Katie Couric is the way she is 1) not afraid to air this man's perspective, 2) welcomed the "lively discussion" that had broken out on the CBS News Blog in response to the segment on the next night's news, and 3) Did it with grace and intelligence, while noting the online discussion was "angry."

As difficult as the Columbine father's segment is to watch, it would be better if we all took a moment to understand how there is enough responsibility to go around for the current state of affairs in this country and around the world. Figuring out better ways to blame one another won't work. Highlighting differences respectfully and holding people accountable when actions and words are inconsistent? Priceless.

It is a great time to be talking about responsibility in America. How about we just set aside the next four weeks to discuss responsibility and whose ideas and lives are consistent, and look at where the hypocrisy is.

Let's look for political leaders who support women and children, peace, the environment, health care, fair wages, freedom, and privacy. Let's contrast them to people who have more limited views of women, of people of color, of diverse religions, perhaps dominion-ist views of the world, or have a more narrow view of sexuality. What's the difference?

The latter cannot imagine walking a mile in Katie Couric's pumps and the former can. Being able to appreciate different perspectives is at the heart of most progressive policies, so why must our rhetoric be angry?

You don't have to be a woman to understand why making your own personal and private health decisions is important. And you don't need to understand worm holes to know that if social conservative politicians have lied to you about one thing, they are probably lying to you about several, including what they have made you believe about the "Culture War" and its sequel the "Culture of Death."

One thing is certain. If all we do is expect Katie Couric to stoop as low as social conservatives have at Fox News and be one sided, to attempt to manipulate media and censor public opinion because she is a woman, then we disrespect the woman she is, and what her news cast is reminding us about who we are as Americans.