Should I be worried? I agreed with Oprah

I was reading a news article today that disturbed me.

Click here to read the article

Here's the gist: It's Rihanna's fault that her beau Chris Brown beat her.

I'm quite proud of myself for actually knowing the history of this story. In a fit of rage during an argument, Chris beat the stuffing out of Rihanna, and shortly afterward, the couple reconciled.

Anyway, back to the present...a bunch of teen girls were surveyed about the whole issue, and a whole host of girls actually thought it was the girl's fault. Seriously?

Apparently Oprah commented about this on one of her recent broadcasts. Her statement was, "Where have we gone wrong here?"

While I don't think I'll ever think of Oprah and me as a "we" in most situations--including theology--we do agree with each other on this one.

Something has gone terribly wrong if we as a culture, even a subculture, have somehow communicated to the next generation that it's ok to beat or to be beaten. Is it the media? Is it family values? Is it a lack of modeling? I know there are no simple answers because it's a complicated problem.

But it is a reminder to me not to take anything for granted. I assme that girls know that physical violence is never acceptable. That "it won't happen again" is myth. That they have the right to speak up---and absolutely must speak up---if something happens to them.

Apparently, that message isn't being communicated clearly enough. Or often enough. And I have to remind myself that "church girls" need to hear the message too.