Here We Go...Again

The year 2015 is coming to a close. It's been quite a journey hasn't it. As a people and a nation, we've overcome a lot- let's recap shall we.

  • Things started off rocky in NYC when the police force turned its back on the Mayor following the deaths of two officers which followed the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO.
  • After that, jury selection for the Boston Marathon Bombing started
  • We got a bit of a reprieve after that with Ohio State winning the college football championship.
  • Following that, President Obama sought congressional approval in an effort to take on ISIS.

  • Then the Justice Department released the report on the Ferguson shooting which caused quite an uproar.
  • That was followed by the Hillary Clinton's personal email scandal (which apparently was newsworthy)
  • Then the Boston Marathon bomber was found guilty on all 30 charges after a whopping 11 hour deliberation session.
  • After that we had the shooting death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore and the rioting that ensued.
  • By the start of summer, we learned that the NSA was basically spying on all of us and the Boston Marathon bomber was sentenced to death.
  • Just as summer was starting to kick off Golden State secured their first NBA championship in 40 years, but that didn't make headlines because the next day potentially racist crazy person shot up a church in Charleston leaving nine people dead.
  • That upsetting news was followed by the US Supreme Court decided that Same-Sex Marriage needed to be a thing.
  • After that we had that little fiasco with the Confederate Flag that was removed the grounds of the South Carolina statehouse- a result of the aforementioned Charleston shooting.
  • Speaking of shootings, we then had to deal with state of emergency that was declared in Ferguson on the anniversary of Michael Brown's death.
  • Then another state of emergency in South Carolina with historic flooding, leaving some 17 people dead.
  • This lead into the Republican Presidential debates and Donald Trump's "political rampage"
  • Then more shootings because in the spirit of Americana and US Media, we have to highlight and give notoriety to enraged crazy people who wield guns on the innocent.
  • After that, we all recognized the day Marty McFly returned to the future.
  • This was followed by a brief reprieve when the Kansas City Royals took home to the World Series--maybe next year Cubs.
  • Then more killings- Chicago's Laquan McDonald and the three killed at Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs.
  • The most recent event in American history- the 14 people killed in San Bernardino- an attack that is being related to terrorism.

But those are just things that happened here in the homeland, abroad, things have been much more volatile. I guess my point is that this year has seen more disaster than I care to see in a lifetime. I once believed in the American dream, but now I'm not so sure. One thing has remained consistent throughout the many disasters that have plagued our nation and that is race. Whether we choose to believe it or not; whether we want to accept it or not, race is right there in the center of it all. White vs Black. It's just as prevalent as the AIDs pandemic and its a fierce, ever-growing plague on our nation. And the sad thing is- that its not going away any time soon. At the very least, its a quick way to toss blame on any given group.Our nation is broken, at the very least and tensions rising. Faith in the American promise dwindles with each passing day and with that dissension rises up inside us all and creates an irreparable rift that glows with a pestilence of defeat. We know no bounds of right because we push the boundaries of wrong until the seams themselves start to pop and elasticity has stretched beyond its ability to return to its natural state.America has been fighting for things all of its existence and I came upon a great realization in pondering on that. I thought we had arrived and in recent days declined- well the truth is, we never arrived. We have always been in a state disrepair and its foolish to think that with a couple of swift moves we can take back the seat of glory- ha! We've been waiting on the end of the world, when all we had to do all along was to turn on the TV. I thought the media had just recently jumped on a rampage of seeking out the story of the apocalypse when we are living the apocalypse.America is a great country, they would say- America stands for freedom, they would say- America stands for tolerance, they would say- what does America stand for? I don't know anymore. I thought it stood for all those things but now I'm not so sure. "Great" is synonymous for "convenient" and "freedom" is synonymous for "when it suits you" and "tolerance" synonymous for "when it feels right". So ergo, America stands for convenience when it suits you and when it feels right. That is what is wrong with our nation. No one is willing to stand up for liberty anymore probably because no one wants to step on other people's toes. Afraid of making someone upset, afraid of shifting the focus to the issues that actually matter as opposed to those that the media decides to propagate.I would call America to do better by wanting better. I would call America to raise the standard. I would even go so far as to say lets make a different kind of history for 2016. It's a new year, let's get new thinking. Let us see actual change. Here we go...again.

JournalJD HymanComment