Good Riddance to 2016

There are some years that are memorable for all the right reasons. 1999 was the year my son was born – 9/9/99, to be exact. I graduated college in 2001. Not surprisingly, I don’t recall the exact date of that particular event. American elected its first non-white male President in 2008, which is a fantastic memory I will never forget. Even as a white male.

However, some years are forgettable for all the wrong reasons. 2016, for example. I lost my grandmother. Another long-time friend passed away after yet another tiring battle against cancer. And the notable deaths involving pop icons continues to grow, adding Carrie Fisher and George Michael to an already lengthy list. 2016 is for sure a year to forget.

Some great things have happened in 2016, and they are moments I will not want to forget. I met some great people in 2016 and reestablished some existing relationships that warmed my heart. I created my own full-service public relations and marketing company, Jupiter Promotions. I proved to myself that I could overcome the most significant surgical procedure I have ever gone through, and this was my fourth that doesn’t involve an oral surgeon. My car was paid off this year and I was starting to wonder if I would ever make it to the end of that seemingly eternal billing cycle. I became a much more active member of my church, including being in a lifegroup and serving as a volunteer. I returned to blogging. I returned to reporting. I went from being unable to walk to being able to play basketball and do yoga again.

Hopefully one day it will be those things that I remember about 2016. But there has been so much more negative that has taken place this year and that is what is hard to forget. Starting out the year still relearning to walk, unemployed and still stinging from the end of a relationship that I didn’t see ending. As the year progressed, my physical and mental state improved but my job situation remained stagnant. And still today, I am beyond shocked that someone with a college degree and years of experience continues to finish no better than second for the thousands of jobs I have taken the time to apply for in 2016. I ended the year fighting an upper respiratory infection for the past six weeks.

This year has been 366 days (of course, this one was a leap year) of daily negatives or at least a lack of positives to overcome the lack of progress that has taken place this year. Losing Muhammad Ali, Arnold Palmer, David Bowie, Prince, Gene Wilder, John Glenn, Gordie Howe, Alan Thicke, Florence Henderson, Nancy Reagan, Garry Shandling, Joe Garagiola, Garry Marshall, Leonard Cohen, Merle Haggard, Glenn Frey, Pat Summitt, Craig Sager, John Saunders, Leon Russell, Morley Safer and Harper Lee, among so many others, has made 2016 a year of fading memories.

Not that celebrity deaths are what we will remember most about 2016. The election results are something we are going to recall for decades and centuries. Only time will tell how those results will affect America and the world. Only on SNL and in my wildest nightmares did I ever envision the words President Trump being a reality but that is how we will begin 2017, which is a year we all hope will be a new start.

Trump rode the wave to being elected on an often-used slogan of making America great again. I can only hope that in 2017, my life will get to be great again. Because 2016 has been a year of disappointments and disasters that never seems to end. But the end of the year is in sight and I am so ready to get a fresh start. Cheers to a new year!

The Outrageous Nature of Outrage

Outrageous. It is defined as something that is “shockingly bad or excessive.” The noun form of this is “outrage.”

It is the word outrage that really springs to mind this week on a number of levels. When a video surfaced of a drunk driving arrest of then-Arizona Cardinals receiver Michael Floyd, people were outraged that the New England Patriots had traded for a guy who had a history of alcohol-related issues. Because, nobody we know has ever shown sympathy or possibly empathy for behaviors resulting from a dependency issue. And trust me, I look forward to any chance to rip into the rival Patriots (go Dolphins!), but not this time.

On a more local level – but something that has blown up nationally – is the Joe Mixon video. Personally, I was “outraged” two years ago when I heard he had hit a woman. A dismissal from the team at that time would have been an acceptable move for me. Instead, he was suspended for a year after he was tagged with a misdemeanor charge that had more public relations repercussions than actual legal problems.

What is outrageous to me is this “fake outrage” people seem to have nowadays when it comes to seeing videos of things that are already outrageous. I don’t need a video to know it is wrong to hit a woman. Yes, it is a separate argument as to how a man should act when he is assaulted by a female first, but the fact remains men who are willing to hit women in any circumstance place themselves in a situation that today’s society just doesn’t accept.

He hit the woman over two years ago and yet people are now pretending to be outraged about the administration’s decision to keep Mixon on the team. Either you are for giving second chances or you are against them. Stop with the flip-flopping in the name of fake outrage.

 

The problem I have is the fake way it comes across when people get on social media and throw a fit about the behaviors of people who engage in certain behaviors. It’s ridiculous. My guess is every single one of us has something in our past that would be deemed “outrageous” by someone else. Yet, we find it acceptable to embarrass those around us by pretending to be visibly upset by something that has zero effect on us at all.

This even goes back to those who were so upset about President Clinton’s behavior but were so willing to accept similar behaviors from President-Elect Trump. It is outrageous that they pretended to be so outraged. And then they were outraged at the people who were outraged at Trump receiving the most electoral votes. The whole thing is outrageous.

It’s a great thing we live in a country that allows us freedom of speech. I’m all for it and I have a proven track record of standing up for our first amendment in ways that most people haven’t. But, whether it is Floyd or Mixon or Clinton or Trump, it all comes across as the same – people in need of a life pretending to be upset about something that just doesn’t affect them in their daily life. My advice – stop pretending and find something else to focus on while you are wasting time scouring through the social media news feeds. Anything else is just an outrage.

Too Much Christmas

The country seems to be divided into two factions and this one has nothing to do with the recent election. No, this one is built around the holidays.

Forget the argument for now as to whether it should be called Christmas or the Holidays (people actually get fired up about this?). No, this one is about the commercialization of Christmas. We have truly turned our attention from what should matter most to what we want to matter the most – the material side of this time of year.

Most everyone has to know the real “reason behind the season” for Christians (of which I am one) is the birthday of Jesus Christ. It seems like the majority of Christians celebrating this time of year remember to go to church for Christmas services. But they also seem to be much, much more focused on the more commercial elements of the holidays.

It starts with the lights and the life-size figures inside and outside our houses. I actually started seeing these getting put up before Halloween. Two months before the actual holiday. If we treated Halloween like this, we would be seeing monsters right after kids started back to school. Could you imagine if guys had to celebrate Valentine’s Day like Christmas?

 

This gets followed up with people practically mortgaging their houses in order to purchase gifts. This is great for the retailers out there but not so much for the people who need to pay bills in January and beyond. Good thing for credit cards.

It’s a great time of year and I’m not one to tell people to stop celebrating in their own way. But it seems excessive – whether it is the Christmas music in July, the abundance of Christmas lights during Halloween, or the fervor that takes place surrounding Black Friday each year. It’s a mess.

Yes, I enjoy the lights. I enjoy some of the music to a point. And who doesn’t like the giving and receiving of presents? But it seems like all of the focus is built around the lights, the music and the gifts. Even the holiday parties. Meanwhile, there is that one day on the 25^th of December that is the source of all of it. It seems as if Santa Claus is more popular than Jesus Christ. Let’s get back to focusing on him too.