The mark of an adult, in my opinion, is the ability to admit when one has made a mistake and accept the consequences.
On Friday, Olympic hopeful Sha’Carri Richardson spoke to The Today Show, She apologized for drug use that led to her one month suspension from competing in the trials for this month’s Olympics.
I admire Ms. Richardson for accepting her punishment with grace and maturity. While I understand that she was grieving for her mother, what she did was wrong. Instead of taking a tantrum (unlike a certain former President) in public, she put on her big girl pants, and let the chips fall where they may.
It is a lesson we can all learn, regardless of how old or young we are.
Addiction is not a thing we can turn on and off like a light switch. It is an all consuming habit that devours and destroys everything in its path.
Hunter Biden, the younger son of President Joe Biden released his memoir back in April. Entitled Beautiful Things: A Memoir, is an emotionally raw and difficult read about Biden’s decades of drug addiction, his adoration of his late older brother Beau Biden, and his many attempts to get clean. He tells the story of his life as only he tells it. From the death of his mother and baby sister when he was a young child, to his father’s time in politics and his attempt to live a normal life while dealing with his inner demons, nothing is off the table.
If this book is not among the top five, if not the best book of the year, something is wrong. I have a feeling that putting pen to paper was a cathartic experience for him. It is real, it is uninhibited, and it is emotional. I wanted to reach out through the pages and give him a long hug. Leaving no stone unturned, he is honest about his long years of drug abuse.
He also talks about the accusation that came from the other side during the 2020 Presidential election in regards to the laptop that linked him to the Ukraine scandal. Unlike a certain person and their family, Hunter Biden comes off as a genuine person who is not always looking out solely for number one.
Do you remember when you were a kid and an adult told you that you couldn’t do something? It made that thing all the more tempting. If the adult had said yes, this thing you wanted lost some of its luster.
The same could be said about marijuana. As of yesterday morning, it is now legal for adults 21 and over in New York State to purchase the drug in small amounts and/or grow their own plants within their private residences.
Though it will take time for the market and regulations to be set up, I agree that this bill is an important one.
I understand the reasons that some might object, but if we are to learn anything from history, it is that an outright ban only compounds the problem. Addiction is real, as are the problems that are offshoots from addiction. In the United States, alcohol was banned from 1920 to 1933. While the lawmakers at the time had their hearts in the right places, they didn’t quite think things through. During the Prohibition era, crime increased via the gangs who took advantage of the illegal booze trade and tax revenues dipped to new lows.
From my perspective, I see only good things with this new law. From an economic standpoint not only will it bring in millions, if not billions of necessary income to the state, it will create new opportunities for business and employment. It will also cut down on the funds spent in the legal system to arrest and incarcerate accused dealers and users, taking the sting off communities of color who are frequently the target of law enforcement.
Only time will tell what the consequences of the law will be. My hope is that though there may be some minor drawbacks, it will overall be the solution to a problem that was needed long ago.
*For the foreseeable future, some Character Review posts may not be published every Thursday as they have in the past.
*Warning: This post contains spoilers about the characters from the television seriesNew Amsterdam. Read at your own risk if you have not watched the show.
There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front of us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.
Managing a large organization is not easy. It requires negotiation, patience, and the ability to make tough decisions. But that does not mean that those decisions will always go over well.
On New Amsterdam, Karen Brantley (Debra Monk) is a wealthy businesswoman and the Chair of the Board of Directors at New Amsterdam Medical Center. Her business perspective often clashes with Medical Director Max Goodwin (Ryan Eggold). His point of view is that the patients come first and the business side of running the hospital comes second. Even if that means stepping out of the box. The problem with this is that Karen is often left cleaning up the mess of Max’s unorthodox choices.
But Karen is not all work and no play. When a impromptu memorial is put up in memory of those who were lost to drug abuse, Karen reveals a part of her life that no one knew up to that point. She includes an image of her daughter, who died from her addiction.
In a light-heartened moment that surprised both the audience and the characters, Karen receives a flirty text from Vijay Kapoor (Anupan Kher). She responds in kind.
To sum it up: A full character is one in which the audience sees the whole person and not just one aspect of their lives. A good writer knows how to slowly reveal who the character is outside of the initial introduction to the audience. The revelations of Karen Brantley outside of her role within the hospital gives both the audience and the other characters a chance to know her and have a complete understanding of her motivations.
Which is why she is a memorable character.
This will be the last New Amsterdam Character Review post. The next group of characters I will be reviewing are…will be revealed next week.
It’s no secret that drug abuse and drug addiction is a plague on our society. Countless lives have been lost and/or destroyed to drug use or addiction.
Last week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would soon be opening a handful of safe injection sites in various neighborhoods. The purpose of these establishments is not to encourage drug addiction and abuse, but to save lives. Those who choose to enter will be given clean needles and access to trained medical professionals who will provide the overdose reversing medication naloxone to those who overdose. Information about treatment options will also be available.
I can understand why some would argue that these sites only encourage illegal drug use. But I disagree. I disagree because there are too many people overdosing and dying for no reason. If someone overdoses while inside of one these establishments, not only will the staff able to revive them, but they will be encouraged to seek help. The easy way out of combating drug abuse and addiction is prison. But that has proved to be a fruitless solution that mingles with other issues to create a larger problem. What is needed, from my perspective is not only medical treatment, but an understanding of why people seek out illegal drugs.
Writergurlny 