I don’t know how to start this column.
With the hardest part out of the way, I’ll be honest, this is going to be my monologue regarding recent events in a pattern that mirrors the way my clinically ADHD mind operates.
Firstly, what is the deal with all of the mass shootings recently? It feels like every day there is another story. I’d believe it; roughly 10,000 people in this country die due to gun violence every year.
That is more than the number of Americans who died in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War combined with the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War, or the combined wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Every three years we equal our total for the Korean War, as well as, every four, our total in Vietnam.
With people literally being shot everywhere, the answer from some still seems to be to legislate a free-for-all and equip anyone and everyone with a firearm.
Speaking of unnecessary violence, the Ukraine is going through some rough times. People are protesting that they do not have the right to protest. Irony aside, the situation has turned bloody as several people have died in the past days.
The situation took an even darker turn when Pope Francis released doves in a gesture of peace. Several of the doves were therein immediately attacked by crows and seagulls. I don’t know how I feel about that.
Speaking of Pope Francis, I have seen some anti-Catholic rhetoric lately and I have to say that Pope Francis is awesome.
I’m not Catholic. I don’t care if I’m not; I still think the Pope is the man. First of all, the original Saint Francis was a pretty epic guy; pick up a book or take my word for it.
As for Pope Francis, I get that some of us like to vote Democratic but you can’t hate the Pope for not becoming a U.S. citizen, not conforming to your beliefs and not voting for Hillary in 2016. Some people have genuine beliefs— Catholics included. If you want to be critical of stagnancy in the church, this isn’t the pope to target.
While I would like to see contraceptives being used to fight AIDS around the world, I have to acknowledge the tremendous gains Pope Francis has made in under a year. If Francis made changes at any more rapid a pace, it could only be considered a religious revolution.
He has encouraged Christians everywhere to accept everyone regardless of their faith, sexuality and even economic standing. Pope Francis literally sneaks out of the Vatican to wash homeless people’s feet in Rome— how much more awesome and down to Earth can the dude be?
Also, by the way, Francis cracked down on the scandals in the church in a serious way. Don’t ignore that.
However, getting back to the issue of sexuality, I’m sure none of you saw it, because people stopped watching the Disney Channel, but “Good Luck Charlie” premiered the channel’s first instance of a homosexual couple and the world ended.
No, wait, no it didn’t; my bad. I keep getting those two outcomes confused; lots of us are.
But the internet sure felt that way for a while.
“@Disney Channel thanks for ruining ‘Good Luck Charlie’ for my daughter for forcing homosexual agenda now she cant watch it. Way to go.”
This nugget of punctuated articulation comes straight from Twitter and makes my head hurt.
Sometimes, when I’m feeling down, I think about how nice it would be to leave this chaotic, messed up world in search of something better. Then I realized applications closed on Aug. 31 for Mars 1, a program to colonize the red planet by 2023, and then, realizing this missed opportunity, I get even sadder.
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