Is it just me?

I'm feeling pretty rattled tonight, in the wake of all this sadness in the world.

Since the start of 2011, birds are falling from the sky, fish are washing ashore, floods are drowning out life down under, and a massive winter snowstorm has pretty much blanketed most of Canada and the US. And those are just the natural disasters.

In addition to all this, the media hasn't failed to provide up-to-the-minute coverage of the shootings in Tuscon, Arizona, which took away the lives of so many innocent people this past weekend.

And just this morning we were given a local shock in Toronto, after a man went on a rampage through the city on a stolen snowplow, and killed a police officer in the line of duty. The officer was just 35-years-old, and a father to a toddler.

I'm breathless just from writing all that out. It's sometimes too much to bear, isn't it? And mind you, all of this is happening while the world solemnly watches the attempted reconstruction of Haiti, a year after a brutal earthquake shook that entire country.

I feel this post is going against everything Straight From The Curls stands for, and yet I can't help but vent. I understand we have no control over the natural disasters (sort of), but what about the man-made problems in our world? Is there any reason for this self-inflicted chaos?

I was forced into a makeshift media blackout during my year in Korea. I had a television, but the news was always in Korean, so I never really understood what was going on. And I didn't mind it. It was rather nice not knowing about all the happenings in the world at every minute. When I felt like it, I'd go on the Internet to look up information.

But these days it seems like we can't escape it. The media is everywhere -- even on the go, with mobile phones and wireless technology. Every waking moment we're subjected to the going ons on either ends of our world. And it seems like in recent times the bad news has been outweighing the good.

Actress Whoopi Golberg's latest book is aptly titled, "Is it just me? Or is it nuts out there?" It's pretty appropriate, don't you think? I especially love the image on the cover.


We as a species really need to take another look at ourselves and about the ways in which we interact with each other. There's just so much unnecessary hate out there, and it really has become a big, bad, scary world. Instead of looking after one another, we're pitching lines in concrete. Instead of promoting peace, we're encouraging animosity among faiths, races, ages... and all this while toting a loaded gun. Why?

And what's with all these politicians encouraging such behaviour? I've always said words are a powerful medium. People absorb words, even if it's subconsciously. So why is it that instead of using their platforms to encourage communication and open-mindedness, most politicians are encouraging barriers and violence?

At the end of the day, when it's our time to leave this planet, we go without our material possessions. So why is it that even with this valuable piece of information, we're still living our lives like it's us against the world? Shouldn't we be valuing life and the limited time we have on this earth?

It seems to me like people have lost their sense of humanity. Values and morals have been replaced by this idea that life should be a free-for-all, rooted in greed and ignorance -- it's us against you, and you against them. And this is the very attitude that's brought us to the global predicaments we find ourselves in.

There's a lovely Persian proverb that reads, "We come into this world crying while all around us are smiling. May we so live that we go out of this world smiling while everybody around us is weeping."

We need to reevaluate how we, as human beings and fellow citizens of this planet, are living our lives and about what our priorities are. I'm not saying we shouldn't have goals and dreams of bettering our lives... that's fine. That's good. But it shouldn't come at the cost and lives of others.

We need to have hope for a better tomorrow. But we should also be proactive and spread messages of love and peace with whomever we can, whenever we can.

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

- Mahatma Gandhi

Image courtesy of Google Images

What a difference a day makes...

I was at a high school out in Brampton today, collecting footage of students' reaction to President Barack Obama's inauguration. Like most people watching this historic event unfold, I was left with a mixed sense of awe and fear as I watched the truest form of a multicultural and diverse man become the leader of the free world.

One of the girls I interviewed was a grade 12 student. She summed up her thoughts in a few words, voicing a concern that a lot of Canadians share, but are not willing to articulate openly. She said that as of 12:10 p.m. today, all of the American history textbooks became out of date. She also said that seeing this event marked in history made her look at Canada's own history and wonder what it would take for our nation to one day have its own coloured prime minister. If not coloured, then at least a prime minister who speaks to the masses rather than to one specific demographic.

During a day spent embedded in the media as I interned and news gathered at one of our country's leading broadcast stations, I found myself sharing in this sense of global pride. However, I couldn't seem to calm my nerves for this man, who now holds the dreams, hopes and futures of millions in his actions and duties. I worry not that the task at hand may be too great for him (because I believe he has the mirth and gusto to follow through with his promises) but that people are missing the point when it comes to his appointment. It's one thing that he is America's first black president. That in itself is an achievement and an historic event that no one can disregard. However, I think that idea has blindsided a lot of people who, before this moment, didn't pay too much attention to politics and government relations.

His vision is simple: he promises to be the best commander-in-chief and president to a group of willing and hopeful people who need to promise and work to bring change to themselves. Yet I can't help but sit here and wonder if a lot of people out there are expecting him to bring change to them, rather than working for it themselves.

I pray and hope that as I write this post on an important day that will forever be marked in history, that the new president of the United States of America and his family will be protected and kept safe throughout the rest of his term(s) and beyond that.

xo
SC