Big Ups- This Washington Post article:
I try my best to read the newspaper every single day. I
enjoy keeping up with the latest events, breaking stories, and vast opinions
delivered to me so I can digest it. The news of late has been filled with
different conflicts in the Middle East, various talks of recession in Europe
and the fiscal cliff in the U.S. As such it is becoming more difficult to find
some truly inspired writing. A few days ago I stumbled upon this amazing
article in the Washington Post. It chronicles the life of Tabitha Ruozzo’s life
living in the Rust Belt. She has all of the symptoms of an underprivileged child
trying to work her way out. Single mother who has four other children, deceased
father who spent time in prison, working multiple jobs throughout the school
year to try and pay her way through, and an overwhelming urge to go to college
and make something of her life. The story itself is quite unique in that there
are a lot of events in Tabitha’s life that don’t play out like the movies. She
becomes distracted and forgets to register for the SAT writings, she is forced
to break up with her boyfriend in exchange for her mother enrolling in EMT
classes…Tabitha is living an unconventional life in a world that very few of us
really know anything about (well, very few people I know). I can’t imagine the
struggles, difficulties, and sheer will power she needs to endure to get
through day to day life. At one point the author, Anne Hull, describes her as
the “oldest teenager in America” and when you read about the eight hour working
days she puts in, how exhausted she gets to allow herself a shred of dignity
that her mother wasn’t able to provide for her; you really start to believe it.
This article gives us a happy ending; unfortunately many people who live in
this sort of poverty (especially in the Rust Belt of America) do not. I am
hoping reading this will open some eyes a little more to the economic plight of
so many American people in the realization that there is a lot of work to do to
get America truly back on its feet.
Honorable Mention- Same-Sex Marriage Cases in the Supreme
Court
Honorable big ups to the Supreme Court in the United States
who have just announced they will hear testimony for the first time on same sex
marriage legislation. The idea is to start a debate on the many different state
legislations regarding everything from legalized marriage to formal recognition
of marriage if performed in another state, the sharing of assets, and the
opposition (most notably Prop 8 in California). I applaud this continued effort
in the U.S. to truly provide equal rights and privileges to all of its
citizens. We’ve seen a truly liberal shift in the mind set of different states
just last month in the election with the legalization of marijuana in
Washington and Colorado as well as same sex marriages being legalized in Maine
and Maryland. This continued shift in thinking towards a more tolerant and
lenient society bodes well for an era of peaceful coexistence amongst all in
the union.
Previously in these entries I praised the Egyptian people
for taking a stance against President Morsi’s sweeping decrees of extra powers
prior to an vote on a new constitution. However, the whole situation in that
country has become a serious schmozzle. Egypt is going through a serious crisis
with both supporters and protesters alike camping out in Tehrir Square and
having their say about the direction their country is moving in. Morsi himself
is attempting to meet with the opposition leaders in order to work out a plan
to vote in a new constitution but the other side refuses to meet until certain
powers are waived by him. Recently he has scaled back these powers however he
has given the army the ability to arrest citizens and the opposition is still
unwilling to meet. Protesting is one thing but there needs to being some cooler
heads prevailing if Egypt wants to return to the world stage as a legitimate leader
for the Arab nations.
In addition to this we have this ongoing war in Syria which
dominates the headlines on a daily basis. An increasingly violent conflict,
with rumours of potential chemical weapon usage by President Bashaar Al-Asaad
(those these have been rebuked by the Syrian government) and an ever rising
death count. I have read some seriously intense articles in everything from
Time to GQ regarding the increasing move towards a secular war amongst the
religious factions in the country akin to the turmoil seen in Iraq. Whenever
this conflict finally comes to an end, and it’s looking like foreign
intervention will not be happening anytime soon to avoid pulling in Syria’s
ally Iran, the country is going to need some serious help to rebuild itself
into any semblance of a proper nation.
Finally there has been the recent visit to Gaza by exiled
ex-Hamas leader Khaled Meshal. In his large address to the people of Gaza he
reinforced the Palestinian’s continued and unequivocal refusal to recognize
Israel as a state. Now, the Palestinians have just recent been upgraded in the
UN to a non-member observer state, which is a large leap from where they were
before with zero recognition from the UN. However, if they wish to continue to
push for a two state system, their own full country, and peace; they will need
to eventually work with Israel to make it happen. I know there’s a lot of
history between these two sides that dates back thousands of years and is much
more ingrained in religious doctrine and principle than anything else. But this
is 2012, we have seen societies come and go, ideals crumble and fade, walls
broken through. Now’s the time to start moving forward with the ability to end
a conflict thousands of years old and make the shift towards peace.
Unfortunately…Meshal is not helping these matters much.
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