2016- A Very Turbulent Year

2016 has been a year of great social change and loss. Many talented entertainers and other public personalities passed. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/long-list-famous-people-died-2016-article-1.2923778 From Prince’s untimely, and ironic death (referring to the lyrics of his song Let’s Go Crazy) https://www.bing.com/search?q=lyrics+to+lets+go+crazy&form=PRUSEN&mkt=en-us&httpsmsn=1&refig=d5b9a044cfc04142b6912923675b1feb&sp=1&qs=AS&pq=lyrics+to+lets+go+&sc=8-18&cvid=d5b9a044cfc04142b6912923675b1feb to yesterday’s announcement of the death of George Michael, this year has been a trying one in one way or another. David Bowie will be missed with his revolutionary presence. There will never be another John Glenn, the space pathfinder of the 20th century. The gracious and extremely stylish First Lady Nancy Reagan left us to be reunited with her beloved Ronnie, who succumbed to Alzheimer’s in June of 2004. As close as they were, her passing had to be viewed as a blessing as she was just a shell of her former self without him. 2016 took those from public service as well. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died of supposed natural causes while on a hunting holiday in Texas. Former Israeli Prime Minister and President, Shimon Peres, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work negotiating with the Palestinians was lost after a long life. He died at the age of 93. Another great loss was Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize winner, Elie Wiesel. Television mothers were not exempted either. Florence Henderson, Brady Bunch mom was another casualty, as well as Doris Roberts, Raymond Barone’s meddling, but loving mom. There were numerous sports figures, more celebrities, producers, songwriters, etc. that were taken away this year. 2016 was a year of revolution and controversy as it was an unprecedented election year. As election years go, this one was long, ugly and in many ways, one without comparison. The scandals that plagued both sides were unbelievable, especially the Democratic National Party. Leaked emails revealed that Bernie Sanders had not received a fair shake from the Democratic Party as all support had been skewed toward candidate Hillary Clinton, and that the “PC” lovers were not very nice to minorities as revealed in their private reverences to them in the emails that came to light. All this resulted in Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s resignation, one week after the convention, and leaving the DNC lacking in leadership. Donald Trump left his very comfortable life in order to battle multiple Republican candidates, the scorn and derision of the press and many others, including his own party members to arrive at the Republican National Convention as the party’s nominee. WikiLeaks rained on Hillary Clinton’s parade even as the mainstream media studiously ignored every infraction. Julian Assange released all promised leaked or hacked emails, even though the candidate and her party are still trying to blame Russia. However, with the low security of Secretary Clinton’s email server, it will be impossible to learn how many hackers of many locations and nationalities have perused both personal and classified information. Election Night turned into a wailing cryfest for Hillary Supporters, Hollywood and the mainstream media. The tide turned late to the support of the Trump machine, as the American Working Class and others pushed out an unprecedented vote for a political outsider. As Judge Jeanine Pirro said, “This wasn’t an election – This was a revolution!” Indeed it was. Protests by the liberal, losing side have been ongoing and colleges had to give safe space, puppies and crayons to students to help offset their disappointment in the results of November 8th. It is a disgrace and quite pitiful that today’s young (and old) cannot handle life’s setbacks. Some seem to believe that if everyone holds hands and believes, life will be fair and equal. The Electoral College final vote a few days ago was witness to many tantrums of adults who acted out their childish delusions at the process, many videos of which have gone viral. On the positive side, Christmas was made merry once again. The final sales numbers are not in, but from the traffic in the stores and on the roads, it appears that the holiday spirit and big Christmas mentality returned joyful and triumphant. 2017 is a week away and hopefully will be a wonderful year for all. Let’s pray that such is the case.