Remembering The Year That Was 2013 ........
As I hunker down ready to take my New Year’s Eve celebration inside my home and far outside the fray, I like so many others, cannot help but consider some of the more prominent stories and events that contributed to shaping this past year. As much as I like to focus on the positive side of things, a couple of stories instantly come to mind that broke my heart and rippled the consciousness of the entire world. Having lived for a brief time in Boston, I am keenly aware of just how important Patriot’s Day is to that city. It is a time of celebration, marked by the running of the world famous Boston Marathon. Bostonians take this day seriously, and they come out in numbers to exhibit their pride in both their city and long-held traditions.
As my eyes focused on the carnage unfolding in front of me on the television screen, I felt such compassion for those killed and injured, as well as their respective families and loved ones. I knew regardless of the statistics, the far-reaching effects would be much greater than the numbers of reported casualties. So many lives would be touched in ways that could’ve never been imagined, superseding the wounds inflicted by two brothers who failed to make a valid point, from selfless acts of bravery to the skill and cunning of those who had presence of mind to act quickly within a state of panic and confusion to save countless wounded from having to pay the ultimate price. The Tsarnaev brothers seriously underestimated just what it meant to be ‘Boston Strong’ with the kind of resilience that dates back to the birth of this nation and forefathers who sought freedom from the kind of oppression that would seek to deny one’s basic human rights. Though Boston will never be the same, it undoubtedly grew stronger in its will to overcome.
Stories like Jodi Arias and George Zimmerman failed to gain much of my attention. The wheels of justice grinded slowly in both cases, and each defendant probably got exactly what they deserved. What troubles me most is how the media creates a kind of ‘dark celebrity’ out of these assailants, by focusing so much attention on the salacious details surrounding these cases and their respective trials rather than advocating for the rights of the victims and their families, or focusing on the lapses within societal thinking that lead to the commission of such crimes in the first place. By the time it’s over, we somehow manage to almost forget two young men lost their lives in brutal, unnecessary fashion. While the two cases have no relation, the public’s fascination bound them together by making them two of the year’s most watched stories. I think it worth noting that while Arias was convicted of murder and Zimmerman walked out of the courthouse a free man, he shall always be confined within the asylum inside his own mind, tortured by his actions on that one fateful night.
Poor Paula Deen …….. did she ever stop crying? She had the courage to admit having made a mistake some twenty years ago during a time when race relations in the south had failed to progress to a level thought to be desirable by today’s standards. She went on to become enormously successful and then was subsequently made to pay and pay she did by losing her program on the Food Network, as well as a number of lucrative endorsements, but I have a feeling Paula will regroup and re-emerge even stronger, not to mention a great deal wiser for having endured her ordeal with a modicum of decency left intact.
However I can’t say the same for the A&E network. What a disappointment. I have to ask myself what does Arts & Entertainment stand for anyhow? For the longest period of time I equated A&E with the ranks of a stations like PBS, Discovery and The History Channel, with quality programming only more profitable, and it seems in the end profit won out over morality. When the patriarch of their highly successful Duck Dynasty spoke out against gays and minorities in a recent interview with GQ magazine, it would have seemed that franchise was doomed. How could anyone in their right mind support such a narrow-minded opinion in this day and age? Haven’t the sacrifices of so many who fought and paid with their lives during the civil rights movement counted for something? What’s next? Do we all don white sheets on our heads and form a club to campaign against any and everyone who doesn’t look or love like we want them to? Freedom of Speech should not equate to freedom to spew hatred and ignorance.
As quasi-celebrities du jour, the members of the Duck Dynasty family carry with them a responsibility same as any other celebrity or entertainer in that their popularity influences others to act and behave in a way designed to emulate their heroes. Therefore hate begets hate as was evidenced by the numerous comments I read on Facebook by supporters of Phil Robertson, who now it seems has also advised men to marry girls at 15 and 16 years of age. For A&E it seems he is the gift that keeps on giving. Considering the network’s recent ill-advised decision to yield to the demands of the ransoming Robertson family by returning their patriarch to the show despite their previously imposed hiatus, it feels like just deserts. The lesson to be learned here is if one is going to promote Arts & Entertainment, then they had better put their money where their mouth is rather than invest in some scripted satire of southern gun-toting duck killers on the rampage.
There were other stories like the civil war in Syria whose death toll has now risen to over 130,000, twelve thousands of which are reported to be women and children, that deserve some serious attention. Assad’s decision to use sarin gas was a direct violation of an accord he agreed to back in 1993, and yet America as a whole stood strong against any direct intervention. I am torn here as well after far too many years in Afghanistan and our most recent involvement in Iraq, I’m ready for our men and women in uniform to return home. Cruelty and injustice is an unfortunate part of our world, and it’s happening all over the globe at any given moment in time. Just as American’s cannot be the world’s police, neither can we solve all of its ills, but we can and do need to focus more strongly on those of us in this nation who turn to their leaders for help with an expectation their voices will be heard.
On an entirely different note, I see Edward Snowden as a slimy little weasel with visions of grandeur when he decided to betray his own country. Despite his informational leaks and the subsequent fall out for the NSA, I for one don’t resent the intrusion upon my privacy as long as I can feel safe in my own home and know my loved ones are being watched over by their government as well. Although we are a free nation, we are a nation who also has enemies, and the best way of exposing threatening cells is through covert action which requires surveillance. To me, if you’ve nothing to hide, then there’s absolutely no reason for concern. In time I pray Mr. Snowden will be brought to proper justice. I’m thinking there’s a cell in Guantanamo with his name on it.
On a much lighter note, for the first time in history we had a sitting Pope resign his post ushering in the reign of a new, inspiring figure by the chosen name of Pope Francis. Mario Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, like so many luminaries before him, seemed an unlikely candidate and yet an obvious choice. His humility coupled with the kind of love, compassion and sense of poverty exemplified by Jesus makes him the perfect soldier of Christ and Holy See. Given time, I have no doubt he will successfully address the inconsistencies and corruption that have plagued the holy church since its inception, making me believe he truly is the Vicar of Christ.
We also lost an angel on earth this year when 95 year-old Nelson Mandela went home to his Father. A true inspiration, he left this world a little dimmer while making the heavens burn even brighter than before.
Other headlines like ObamaCare and missile threats from out of North Korea that frequented our news this past year will undoubtedly carry over into the next year serving to confirm our suspicions that we continue to live underneath a dark cloud best described as politics as usual. Each respective party will state their case, rally their base and then dig in their heels, determined not to give an inch in the way of progress, thus creating an even greater number of people who fail to believe in the leadership of this nation as evidenced by low voter turn-out. Therefore it is up to the people themselves to become the master of their own destinies in an effort to show the privileged classes in Washington just how it’s done. In a nutshell, if you don’t like something, change it by voting out the incumbents. Only by a show of collective force can real change become possible.
Finally the other story that captivated the world was much sweeter in nature and devoid of negativity. His Royal Highness Prince George (for short) showed the world how a fairytale romance could have a happy ending in real life. Babies, like New Year’s Day, signify a new beginning, a time when each of us can renew our faith in humanity and reach out to our fellow man while still brimming with hopes for a brighter future for all. As we raise our glasses this evening in a toast while attempting to sing the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne, we fondly say farewell to days gone by and turn our faces toward the eternal fountain of life and light where hope will always spring eternal.
Happy New Year ……
As my eyes focused on the carnage unfolding in front of me on the television screen, I felt such compassion for those killed and injured, as well as their respective families and loved ones. I knew regardless of the statistics, the far-reaching effects would be much greater than the numbers of reported casualties. So many lives would be touched in ways that could’ve never been imagined, superseding the wounds inflicted by two brothers who failed to make a valid point, from selfless acts of bravery to the skill and cunning of those who had presence of mind to act quickly within a state of panic and confusion to save countless wounded from having to pay the ultimate price. The Tsarnaev brothers seriously underestimated just what it meant to be ‘Boston Strong’ with the kind of resilience that dates back to the birth of this nation and forefathers who sought freedom from the kind of oppression that would seek to deny one’s basic human rights. Though Boston will never be the same, it undoubtedly grew stronger in its will to overcome.
Stories like Jodi Arias and George Zimmerman failed to gain much of my attention. The wheels of justice grinded slowly in both cases, and each defendant probably got exactly what they deserved. What troubles me most is how the media creates a kind of ‘dark celebrity’ out of these assailants, by focusing so much attention on the salacious details surrounding these cases and their respective trials rather than advocating for the rights of the victims and their families, or focusing on the lapses within societal thinking that lead to the commission of such crimes in the first place. By the time it’s over, we somehow manage to almost forget two young men lost their lives in brutal, unnecessary fashion. While the two cases have no relation, the public’s fascination bound them together by making them two of the year’s most watched stories. I think it worth noting that while Arias was convicted of murder and Zimmerman walked out of the courthouse a free man, he shall always be confined within the asylum inside his own mind, tortured by his actions on that one fateful night.
Poor Paula Deen …….. did she ever stop crying? She had the courage to admit having made a mistake some twenty years ago during a time when race relations in the south had failed to progress to a level thought to be desirable by today’s standards. She went on to become enormously successful and then was subsequently made to pay and pay she did by losing her program on the Food Network, as well as a number of lucrative endorsements, but I have a feeling Paula will regroup and re-emerge even stronger, not to mention a great deal wiser for having endured her ordeal with a modicum of decency left intact.
However I can’t say the same for the A&E network. What a disappointment. I have to ask myself what does Arts & Entertainment stand for anyhow? For the longest period of time I equated A&E with the ranks of a stations like PBS, Discovery and The History Channel, with quality programming only more profitable, and it seems in the end profit won out over morality. When the patriarch of their highly successful Duck Dynasty spoke out against gays and minorities in a recent interview with GQ magazine, it would have seemed that franchise was doomed. How could anyone in their right mind support such a narrow-minded opinion in this day and age? Haven’t the sacrifices of so many who fought and paid with their lives during the civil rights movement counted for something? What’s next? Do we all don white sheets on our heads and form a club to campaign against any and everyone who doesn’t look or love like we want them to? Freedom of Speech should not equate to freedom to spew hatred and ignorance.
As quasi-celebrities du jour, the members of the Duck Dynasty family carry with them a responsibility same as any other celebrity or entertainer in that their popularity influences others to act and behave in a way designed to emulate their heroes. Therefore hate begets hate as was evidenced by the numerous comments I read on Facebook by supporters of Phil Robertson, who now it seems has also advised men to marry girls at 15 and 16 years of age. For A&E it seems he is the gift that keeps on giving. Considering the network’s recent ill-advised decision to yield to the demands of the ransoming Robertson family by returning their patriarch to the show despite their previously imposed hiatus, it feels like just deserts. The lesson to be learned here is if one is going to promote Arts & Entertainment, then they had better put their money where their mouth is rather than invest in some scripted satire of southern gun-toting duck killers on the rampage.
There were other stories like the civil war in Syria whose death toll has now risen to over 130,000, twelve thousands of which are reported to be women and children, that deserve some serious attention. Assad’s decision to use sarin gas was a direct violation of an accord he agreed to back in 1993, and yet America as a whole stood strong against any direct intervention. I am torn here as well after far too many years in Afghanistan and our most recent involvement in Iraq, I’m ready for our men and women in uniform to return home. Cruelty and injustice is an unfortunate part of our world, and it’s happening all over the globe at any given moment in time. Just as American’s cannot be the world’s police, neither can we solve all of its ills, but we can and do need to focus more strongly on those of us in this nation who turn to their leaders for help with an expectation their voices will be heard.
On an entirely different note, I see Edward Snowden as a slimy little weasel with visions of grandeur when he decided to betray his own country. Despite his informational leaks and the subsequent fall out for the NSA, I for one don’t resent the intrusion upon my privacy as long as I can feel safe in my own home and know my loved ones are being watched over by their government as well. Although we are a free nation, we are a nation who also has enemies, and the best way of exposing threatening cells is through covert action which requires surveillance. To me, if you’ve nothing to hide, then there’s absolutely no reason for concern. In time I pray Mr. Snowden will be brought to proper justice. I’m thinking there’s a cell in Guantanamo with his name on it.
On a much lighter note, for the first time in history we had a sitting Pope resign his post ushering in the reign of a new, inspiring figure by the chosen name of Pope Francis. Mario Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, like so many luminaries before him, seemed an unlikely candidate and yet an obvious choice. His humility coupled with the kind of love, compassion and sense of poverty exemplified by Jesus makes him the perfect soldier of Christ and Holy See. Given time, I have no doubt he will successfully address the inconsistencies and corruption that have plagued the holy church since its inception, making me believe he truly is the Vicar of Christ.
We also lost an angel on earth this year when 95 year-old Nelson Mandela went home to his Father. A true inspiration, he left this world a little dimmer while making the heavens burn even brighter than before.
Other headlines like ObamaCare and missile threats from out of North Korea that frequented our news this past year will undoubtedly carry over into the next year serving to confirm our suspicions that we continue to live underneath a dark cloud best described as politics as usual. Each respective party will state their case, rally their base and then dig in their heels, determined not to give an inch in the way of progress, thus creating an even greater number of people who fail to believe in the leadership of this nation as evidenced by low voter turn-out. Therefore it is up to the people themselves to become the master of their own destinies in an effort to show the privileged classes in Washington just how it’s done. In a nutshell, if you don’t like something, change it by voting out the incumbents. Only by a show of collective force can real change become possible.
Finally the other story that captivated the world was much sweeter in nature and devoid of negativity. His Royal Highness Prince George (for short) showed the world how a fairytale romance could have a happy ending in real life. Babies, like New Year’s Day, signify a new beginning, a time when each of us can renew our faith in humanity and reach out to our fellow man while still brimming with hopes for a brighter future for all. As we raise our glasses this evening in a toast while attempting to sing the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne, we fondly say farewell to days gone by and turn our faces toward the eternal fountain of life and light where hope will always spring eternal.
Happy New Year ……
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