“Had I known then what I know now…!”

…. is a phrase we should get used to hearing in the coming weeks and months.

Fact, the phone hacking scandal is an appalling mess – that should never have happened – but it did and rightly many are furious and feel betrayed by it!

Another fact, many people including those in a position of leadership in the police, the newspaper business and even politicians did not (and dare I say still don’t) know how deep and wide phone hacking went. It seems everyday brings with it new victims – and I have a feeling we haven’t even scratched the surface yet.

However and despite all the ugliness of this scandal, pointing the figure and hastily laying the blame on a few scapegoats will only give a temporary solution when what we desperately need is a permanent and lasting resolution – something more long term.

Also saying sorry and apologizing is nice – for some reason we love it and seem to have an obsession with hearing and making people say it. However, saying sorry is not the same as putting in place the correct measures that will safeguard the public from similar occurrences in the future, nor will it create the appropriate laws and regulations to suitably deal with future offenders.

We also need to get over ourselves and focus on what matters, someone, clearly took their eyes of the game and dropped the ball. Then again we also need to be honest and remember that we “the now so very appalled public” are equally guilty! Because if we did not buy the papers and salivate over other peoples’ misery, the newspapers would not have continued to dig for and print peoples’ trash and personal misfortune!

Besides putting in place the laws to guide and protect us – we also need a moral awakening – be honest with ourselves and ask a few searching questions – because those papers did not weekly fly off the shelves on their own to nowhere – we bought them!

Society is what we make it, our journalists, politicians, and the police are not aliens from outer-space – they are our sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers…. In other words they are us and come from us. We made them what they are so why are we so surprised now!?