Dear Justin Bieber -

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"Mr. Bieber, you are charged with the following: DUI - alcohol or drugs, resisting without violence, and driving with an expired driver's licence." 

- Florida Judge Joseph P. Farina

Dear Justin,

After I finished watching the judge read you your charges, I clicked replay, tuned him out for this second time through, and just watched you.

And you just broke my heart.

Because we failed you.

I'm not at all a Belieber, sorry man. I don't claim to be even half as supportive of you as all those who have trended #WeWillAlwaysSupportYouJustin on Twitter for more than 24 hours now. I follow you and your sweet mom on Twitter and have a grand total of two JB songs in my iTunes, and that's about it.

But although I might not be a Belieber, somehow I always wanted to believe in you. 

And I still do.

I want to believe that this is the real you:

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I think you saw it. What I saw. And I think you fell just as deeply in love with the Philippines last fall as I did two summers ago.

I think that moment you handed that boy that pencil or cradled that baby you felt it. That joy of being fully in sync with who you were created to be - a vulnerable human who simply loves other vulnerable humans.

That joy of reaching out - no million-dollar cars, no drugs, no drag races needed. All the fullness of life - any drug or fix or thrill you ever needed - was cradled in your arms, reaching for your gift of a pencil, or cradling your neck as you pulled her off that wooden porch and into your arms.

Justin - they're saying some nasty things about you out there. And yeah, let me tell you, you're an idiot. Your actions definitely need to be dealt with because DUI and street racing and weed is not cool or healthy or safe for anyone. Please try to be better.

But oh man, this is our fault too.

Congrats on being next on the long, long, long list of names that society ran in to rehab, jail, insanity, mental breakdown and loss of self-identity. Just in our lifetime, Justin, that list starts with a couple of girls named Lindsay and Britney and more recently continues with a girl named Miley and apparently, you.

We're so desperate to see you guys fall. So excited to see what crazy thing you're going to pull off next. Because we're just messed up like that. 

We live in a society where people who have extraordinary talent are destroyed in an average of 5 years flat.

You're pushed and pulled and expected to do superhuman things on a superhuman schedule and still stay perfectly put-together.

Why couldn't we just let you sing?

Why did we also have to read truth and lies about you in magazines? Why did we also have to chase you on the streets, take your picture, threaten your girlfriend and cover our bedroom walls with your face?

Why wasn't just listening to your music enough?

Why do you have to sacrifice yourself on the altar of Hollywood in order to share your God-given talents?

So I can't stand silent while people say that supporting you is terrible because you're a terrible person.

We're all terrible people. 

And I mean, I don't know about them, but I'd sure like to be supported even though I'm a terrible person. 

Justin - I believe in an amazing-grace Jesus who associates with terrible people. And I know you do too.

And not only does He associate with terrible people, He loves them. Believes in them.

Justin, I still want to believe in you. 

And I think if we all tried together, we could start to believe in the world, too - terrible as it is.

So let's try, shall we? In your very own words -

"Let's make the world better."