When Is This Madness Going To Stop?

Last month, when 49 innocent people were murdered in the shooting at the Orlando night club, I had hoped that this country would finally come together and move forward from the tragedy.

The truth of the Orlando shooting is that hate, prejudice and discrimination had as much responsibility for the murders as much as the gunman did.

This week, two African-American men were killed by police officers. Alton Sterling from Louisiana and Philando Castile from Minnesota had their lives unnecessarily taken.

In response to the shooting of the two men, a rally in Dallas ended with the death of five police officers.

That brings the death count to 7.

The same hate, prejudice and discrimination that was partially to blame for the Orlando shooting is also responsible for the death of these 7 souls.

It’s no secret that racism still has an emotional foothold on America. While I am not African-American, I can understand the perspective of those who feel threatened and abused by a system that keeps them down.

The truth is that all lives matter. We are still all human beings at the end of the day.

I’m going to end this post with a video from The Daily Show. As usual, they hit the nail on the head.

We have seen too much blood spilled on American streets this week. It’s time to end the madness.

Happy Friday.

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Damned If We Do, Damned If We Don’t- The 2016 Presidential Election

With the 2016 Presidential election coming up, I think we are all a little nervous.

It feels like the future of our country is hanging in the balance.

Every election has felt like that, at least since I’ve been voting, but this one feels more contentious.

I will not reveal who I am voting for, but I feel like neither of the presumptive nominees is really the best choice for our country.

Donald Trump is an ego maniac who speaks without thinking, indirectly encourages his supporters to be openly hostile to women and minorities and has built his campaign on keeping Mexicans and Muslims fleeing the violence in the Middle East out of this country. He has also gone bankrupt several times.

On a personal note, he also not spoke out against the anti-Semitic images and language used by his supporters. His eldest daughter, Ivanka, converted to Judaism when she married her husband is raising her children as Jews. That does not sit well with me.

Hillary Clinton is the former first lady who has worked her way up the political chain. This is the second time she has ran for President. While her presence in this race represents how far American women have come from where we were only a few decades ago, I will admit that I still question some of her choices. The whole thing about Benghazi aside, what I still question is the email scandal.

We all know that our emails are not 100% hacker safe. The problem is that she used personal email, which I’m sure had a certain level of security. However, given her position and the information she had access to, it was not the best choice to use a personal email instead of her work email.

Damned if we do, damned if we don’t.

Gone Too Soon

No mortal is untouched by death.

A while back, I wrote about a friend of a friend who committed suicide. I did not know her personally, but her death hurt.

Last night I found out that a childhood friend of mine passed away. I haven’t seen her in twenty years. We’ve been Facebook friends for a few years, but never really made the time to re-connect as adults.

I wish I had reached out to her when I had the chance. She was a year younger than I was and one of my best friends from the time I was in pre-school until my early teens. I cannot imagine what my childhood would have been like without her.

Her death is a reminder that life is precious and we need to make time for the people who are important to us. We also need to tell them that we love them. We never know when we will have to unexpectedly tell them goodbye for the final time.

My regular readers know that I have been battling depression for a few years. Depression keeps its victims from living life to the fullest.

Depression has taken a lot from me. Experiences I’ve never had, friendships I’ve never made. I cannot and will not let it keep me from living. Live is too short, we only get one spin around this planet. We had better make the most of it while we can.

RIP.

Enjoy your weekend.

Flashback Friday-I Am Sam (2001)

The greatest love in the world is a parent’s love for their child.

In the 2001 film, I Am Sam, Sam Dawson (Sean Penn) is a single father with a mental handicap caring for his daughter Lucy (Dakota Fanning). The problem is that Lucy is growing up and is starting to exceed her father’s emotional and mental capabilities.

Concerned that Sam is unable to care for his daughter, Lucy is taken away from him by the authorities. Sam turns to Rita Harrison Williams (Michelle Pfeiffer) to help him re-gain custody of his daughter. Rita, a high-profile attorney who usually represents clients who can pay large sums, is initially hesitant to take the case pro bono. Will Rita take the case and if she does, will Sam regain custody of his daughter?

This movie could have easily gone in the direction of the schmaltzy overworked drama. Thankfully, it does not. For all of the stuff that is said in the media (and the tabloids especially) about Sean Penn, he is an amazing actor. What makes his performance radiate beyond the screen and his character’s limitations is Sam’s love for his daughter. While he does not understand much of the world, he knows that his daughter is his world and he will fight to keep her in his life.

Michelle Pfeiffer puts in another standout performance with this role. Rita may have achieved much in her life, but there is something missing. What I truly appreciated about her character arc is the emotional journey Rita goes on.

But the standout performance goes to Dakota Fanning. At the then young age of 7, not only does she hold her own with her costars who are decades older than she is, but her performance is shows a maturity that went beyond her youth.

I absolutely recommend this film.