Goodbye 2005
I've been thinking about this post for the past week. I've been reflecting on what has occurred in my life during 2005, what has happened in the US, and what has happened in the world. I've also been looking towards 2006 and what it holds for me. Obviously, it holds the gate to my future - May 13, 2006 - the day I walk across the stage and accept the first doctorate degree in my family. A milestone for me. A milestone I've been working towards for 6 years - 6 tumultuous years. At first I thought 2005 wasn't such a bad year. I started clinical rotations. I've started becoming the dreaded "professional." American citizens started opening their eyes and questioning the administration. Bush's approval rating is at its lowest point in 5 years. Americans are questioning the war in Iraq, the CIA, and Republican ethics. The world started to realize that poverty in Africa is a major concern. Africa gets turned the blind eye by modern nations due to its lack of OIL. Live 8 helped bring this to center stage. I was feeling better...and then I watched The Year in Pictures on MSN. 2005 was a horrible year - for the US and the world. Hurricane Katrina showed how horrible American people can be. We turned our backs on our own CITIZENS. We want them "moved back" to Louisianna and out of our towns. We were reluctant to send aid to them because they were "barbaric." We bitched because they qualified for Medicaid. My God, these people lost everything they ever had..and we bitch. What kind of country are we when we can't even help our own people? The war in Iraq continues to worsen. Every day more American soldiers get murdered in the streets, not to mention the psychological and physical damage the survivors must endure for the rest of their lives. Terrorism continues to flourish. (Perhaps Iraq is NOT the problem?) The White House is draped in disgrace. A CIA agent and her husband speak out about the war in Iraq and her name is leaked to the press, putting her life, her husbands life, and their child's life in danger. The leak comes from within the administration - Libby, Cheney's right hand man. The PATRIOT Act remains a threat to every American ideal. In the dirtiest tatic yet used by Republican law makers - they piggy backed drilling in the Artic Refuge onto a Defense Bill. Pretty strategic on their part - if the Dems voted against it, then they were cutting benefits to the soldiers; if the Dems voted to help our soldiers, they opened up the Artic Refuge. The Dems saw through this ploy and voted it down. We truly one nation under God...the God of OIL. What a horrible year...
So, here's to 2006 - may it be better than 2005, may the Dems retake Congress, and may the American people take back America.
So, here's to 2006 - may it be better than 2005, may the Dems retake Congress, and may the American people take back America.
posted by ahsirt at 2:33 PM
1 Comments:
Beware of the Year in Pictures. Unfortunately, sad pictures make the news more often and sell better. Don't get me wrong, I hate fluff stories on newscasts and most true news is of the bad sort. But it doesn't mean that good things aren't happening. Life is full of little victories that aren;t often newsworthy because they happen to ordinary people. But lets face it, most of us are ordinary.
Every year will have its share of sorry and tragedy - it is the way of it. But each year also has its share of joy, and its important that we don't forget the good things that happen in our lives. While empathy is basically a good emotion, it can be taken too far. Each of us will have triumphs and sorrows on our path through life. If we internalize everyone else's sorrows how will we handle our own? I'm not suggesting turning a blind eye to those in need or hardening our hearts to every tragic story we hear. I'm only suggesting that we allow ourselves to also wallow in our own happiness when it comes our way. A year of our lives has past us and we won't get it back. None of us know how many we have ahead of us, so its important that we don't casually toss one away.
As for the tragedies and sorrows of 2005 - let them go like the recently melted snow. If you have the means and opportunity, help out those affected but don't internalize their grief. It won't help them and it will surely hurt you. The fact that we still have a democracy to live in - despite the failed policies of the current administration - is enduring proof that the world we live in is actually getting better. In centuries past, the lights may have gone out by now. Try to keep that in mind throughout 2006.
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