Category: News

A Word To The Wise

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

happiness & freedomOur new president has only been in office for a couple of days more than a week and he is already proving to be the amateur that I feared he would be. He made a number of promises during his campaign which were often ill considered and the boasts of someone who doesn’t fully understand the job of chief executive of a powerful nation. Sadly former presidents Bush and Obama vastly increased the use of executive actions during their terms and thus opened the door for the kind of wholesale orders that Trump signed this week. Perhaps the most egregious thing that has happened in our recent history is the easing of the system of checks and balances through the backdoor tactic that President Trump used so thoughtlessly last week. We certainly may have issues with some or all of the pronouncements that Trump set into action but we should in reality be more concerned with the trend of unilateral decision making by one person that has become more and more fashionable in the past several years. While we may have agreed with the decisions of our former presidents we should always be wary of putting too much power into the hands of a single individual. Our Founding Fathers understood this all too well and now we are witnessing the problems with the reckless use of the power of the presidential pen. We all should have cringed when President Obama told us that if Congress would not act he would instead use his pen to get his wishes. Now we are facing the prospect of enduring four years of rashly considered executive orders and the ensuing chaos that they may engender.

There is so much to be said about the actions that President Trump took last week but I will focus on his temporary ban on immigration and travel to the United States by individuals from six primarily Muslim countries. It is obvious that the president and some of his close aides authored the pronouncements in haste in order to demonstrate that President Trump is a man of action, someone who doesn’t waste time in getting things done. While this might at first glance sound reasonable enough to his supporters it neglects the very necessary step of considering unforeseen consequences of a decision that must be part and parcel of the process. This takes more than a few hours or even a few days and requires feedback even from those who oppose the move. Their ideas are just as important in fashioning a fair and effective order as those from enthusiastic advocates. All of the questions and difficulties should have been openly addressed long before any type of order was signed.

Another problem with this particular order is that it seems to have been done without properly informing the very people who are taxed with its enforcement, leading to unwarranted confusion. By the end of the weekend it was apparent that multiple mistakes had been made that need never have happened. The roll out should have been delayed long enough to include opportunities for everyone to prepare for its enforcement and to note potential concerns and problems that might occur. To suddenly spring such a dramatic change on even those who already had visas and were in transit to our country is unjust. To realize after the fact that the directive was unclear in how to deal with those who already hold green cards was indicative of a lack of adequate planning. All in all it demonstrated that the president is still very much a rookie.

Perhaps President Trump’s most egregious habit is an inability to admit mistakes. This is a fatal flaw and one that I fear he will not be able to overcome since it appears to be an unshakeable aspect of his character or lack of it. Again and again he insists on lying when the truth is so obvious. This weekend he actually seemed to think that we would buy his argument that the confusion at the nation’s airports was caused not by the impact of his executive order regarding his temporary ban of people from certain countries but a computer problem with Delta Airlines. This type of juvenile behavior is unbecoming to his office and an embarrassment. It calls everything that he does into question. He tells us that he is here to work with all of us but then insults anyone who disagrees with him and asks us to suspend reality with his silly excuses when things don’t go as he had planned.

it may be somewhat true that many of the reactions to President Trump’s latest foray into imposing his beliefs onto the nation may have been somewhat hyperbolic, hysterical and hypocritical but it is easy to understand why they so fear his actions. He has been remiss in demonstrating the calm deliberation that is needed for his office. Frankly he is in fact scarring many people. We need to feel secure that he will not involve us in any actions that will be harmful to our democracy and our freedoms. Sadly he has mostly exhibited a profoundly erratic temperament that is far from being reassuring. While bluster may be appropriate in some situations a true leader needs to know when to curb such tendencies. Thus far he has not given us any indications that he knows how to do that.

On this date in history we were saddened by the explosion of the Challenger as it carried our astronauts into space. Then President Reagan demonstrated how to strike a tone that would resonate with the American people as he spoke so sincerely and eloquently of the tremendous sense of sadness that we were all feeling. Mr. Trump needs to begin to develop a connection with all of us. He should have prefaced this executive order by speaking directly to we the people. He might have quietly and rationally provided us with the reasoning behind his thinking. He had the opportunity to include us in the deliberations by asking for our input before he put the new policy into effect. He might have learned from us and gained our respect if only he had explained the timeline and what his ultimate intentions are. Instead he continued to boast in tweets that his is a great plan that is going well and to ignore the concerns that so many have.

The fact is that Donald Trump is not the first president to create a temporary ban of travel and immigration from specific countries. Jimmy Carter prevented Iranians from coming here during the height of the hostage situation and more recently President Obama instituted a six month ban for Iraqis. Presidents sometimes have to do such things. We might have been more open to this executive order had there been more of a sense of thoughtfulness and less of a feeling that it was going to happen regardless of what we think simply because Trump won.

I would caution President Trump, Congress, the Supreme Court and the American people to curb their rhetoric and tribal instincts and begin to rationally dialogue with one another or our beautiful democracy is in danger of being torn asunder. We have to rediscover who we are as a people. It will take great courage to work out our problems. Now more than ever we need leaders who are less concerned about party lines and reelections and more driven by love of country. We are all watching and hoping for evidence that we still have guardians of democracy in our midst.

A Beautiful Thing

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

WomensMarchSF_EC_012117-14.jpgFreedom is a beautiful thing. It allows each of us to decide for ourselves what we believe. Of course there are certain restrictions to our liberties. We agree as a society that it is innately wrong to murder or steal. There are extremes of very bad behavior that virtually all of us abhor. Beyond that there is often room for differences of opinion and for the most part we respect and protect one another’s right to divergent thinking. The bedrock of our free society is based upon the notion that we are entitled to our opinions. We generally have a “to each his own” way of getting along in a highly diverse society.

Now and again we get things wrong and yet we find ways of excusing our egregious decisions. For far too long, for example, we Americans prided ourselves in being a great and just nation while still allowing members of our society to own other human beings as slaves. We found any number of reasons to explain away this barbaric practice but in reality it was always wrong and there were individuals and groups who took a hard line and insisted that we had to rid ourselves of slavery for all time, not in bits and pieces. These people were often viewed as being kooky religious zealots, trouble makers with strange ideas. It took courage for them to voice their complaints publicly and for the most part they were viewed as outcasts and pariahs. Still they believed so strongly in their cause that they would not be stilled. From one generation to the next their message was passed down to an ever growing number of converts until one day the most powerful man in the country joined their ranks and boldly declared the emancipation of all enslaved people even while a civil war divided the country and threatened to tear it apart.

Those individual voices that grew into a collective roar mattered. The people who spoke out against slavery did so with the knowledge that they were fighting an uphill battle but they were willing to bear the consequences nonetheless. They eventually wrought powerful change by following the dictates of their consciences. It is a beautiful thing to watch souls who are willing to fight for the rights of people that they do not even know. We have seen them parading through the streets of our country with their signs and their slogans time and again. There were suffragettes who pointed out the absurdity of denying the right to vote to half of the population of the United States. There were workers who insisted on safe working conditions, fair wages and reasonable work hours. The civil rights movement of the nineteen sixties focused a lens on the plight of fellow Americans who were still segregated from society and denied the most basic of rights for no other reason than the color of their skin. Time again peaceful demonstrations, editorials and declarations have helped our country to move to closer and closer approximations of true justice for all. It is the American way and it is beautiful.

Last weekend millions of women gathered together to voice their own concerns. There were many different points of view, some of which were radical indeed, but mostly the cause was about a growing belief that some among us are still being marginalized. The march highlighted the reality that ours is still an imperfect nation with problems that must be addressed with compassion. It was a beautiful sight to see so many loving and deeply well intentioned women along using their First Amendment right to gather together to shed a light on the issues that disturb them. This is democracy in action and if it bothers us just a bit to hear what they had to say then their march was effective because it caused us to think. Hopefully this demonstration of freedom will move us to begin a dialogue about our commonalities and our differences. Protests are almost always conversation starters that force us to think about the way we do things and make us wonder if an issue is serious enough to bring about change. We should never be afraid of entering the fray of controversial topics but we must also do so with a sense of respect and a willingness to consider every possible idea before closing our minds. Otherwise we will only find ourselves fighting senseless battles with one another.

Hidden inside the barbs being tossed between those who applaud the Women’s March and those who found it to be onerous are a multitude of issues each of which should be considered individually. Some women admittedly went because they were disappointed that Donald Trump is now our president. They abhor his attitudes toward women and wanted to make it very clear that they are insulted that such a man would be allowed to lead our nation. Others were more concerned with specific causes whether it be the environment or the treatment of minority groups and religions. Most walked to demand equity for women in the workplace and with regard to opportunities for advancement. There were of course those who believe that every woman has a right to healthcare and contraception, among which is abortion.

The reality is that we can’t react to the Women’s March as a whole. We must instead unpack each of the issues that were noted on the signs and in the speeches. It is in reality a very complex situation and in all probability even those who were part of that sea of pink will admit that they did not agree with everything that they saw or heard. To fully appreciate the magnitude of this new revolution we must be willing to suspend our generalizations and discuss each issue individually. We also need to commend the participants for their courage which is in keeping with the way that positive change has been wrought in our country time and again. In turn we should ask the ladies to demonstrate a willingness to understand the ways in which some of their fellow citizens may differ from them. If we begin the discussions without breaking out into a state of war as we have done far too many times in the past perhaps we will be able to finally put some of these important issues to rest.

Religious and political beliefs are highly individual and personal. As such they tend to elicit very strong emotions for which people are more than willing to go to battle. I for one am strongly pro life for example but I understand that we have to find ways to balance the needs of our diverse ways of thinking with what seems most right and just. We have to ease the tensions between church and state because herein lie many of our most inflammatory arguments. I have always believed that we must be careful to keep the two institutions very separate particularly when it comes to using government funds.

It is important that we learn to celebrate the liberties that we have. When we see a peaceful protest we should not be angered but rather joyful because that is the embodiment of of the freedoms that we cherish. We should use such occasions to find ways of bridging the gaps that exist between us rather than hurling hateful rhetoric at one another. Of course the tolerance of differences must go both ways if we are to be truly effective. 

Last Saturday night my extended family celebrated the birthday of a delightful little girl who turned six years old. She is an innocent who joyfully reveled in the celebration that was just for her. There was a great deal of love in the room in spite of the fact that we all know that we possess a wide variety of philosophies whether speaking of religion or politics. We are able to voice our beliefs and still fully embrace each other.

I’d like to think that my family is a microcosm of our nation. From the same parents we branched out into many different directions and came to different conclusions about the best way to live. We may argue in support of our particular philosophies but in the end we realize that our differences matter far less than our overriding love. This is where we need to begin as a nation, understanding that it is natural and actually quite good that we have a diversity of ideas. Let us embrace all of the voices without preordained prejudice for among them may be the ideas that will ultimately make us better and stronger. Demonstrating our freedom is a beautiful thing.

Children Will Listen

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

banner2For some this will be a day of celebration, for others disappointment. Forty four times we have inaugurated a new President of these United States and in each instance the transition of power from one man to another has been peaceful even if not enthusiastic. It is how our government was designed to work. Today the forty fifth man will utter the Oath of Office that has been repeated so many times according the Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of the president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Those thirty five words invest an awesome responsibility into the hands of someone who is only a human being, which makes fulfilling the mandate even more difficult than any of us might ever imagine. Not everyone who has held the highest office in our land has been up to the job but in virtually every case our country has somehow muddled through even the most tempestuous times. I would like to believe that the majority of the men who sat in the White House have felt the full import of leading our country. It has been said that taking that oath is a sobering moment.

Donald J. Trump will soon be the president. He was not my choice but many of the individuals who have held that title were not the person for whom I voted. There have been twelve different heads of state in my lifetime starting with Harry Truman and ending with Barack Obama. Now Donald Trump will be a member of that very exclusive group. I honestly wish him well because if he fails we will all feel the effects of his ineptitude. For the sake of our country I pray that he will embrace his duties in a spirit of considering all of us. I want him to see his job as one of serving each and every man, woman and child without reference to party affiliation. I hope that he will rise above partisanship and that his motives in making any decisions will be based on careful consideration of what is right and just for we, the people. I wish more than anything that he will be able to set his own selfish needs aside and that he will work with humility and a realization that nothing that he does should ever be about legacy or popularity. It should always be based on the oath that he has sworn to follow with God and mankind as his witnesses.

I pray that Donald Trump will be safe from harm. Violence toward our leaders has never lead to solutions of our problems. There are proper avenues for voicing our concerns. Our system of checks and balances will function well as long as all of us remember how necessary that way of operating has always been. It will also serve us to give President Trump credit when he does something right rather than being against his every move and utterance. We have had so much of that type of behavior for such a long time and we have accomplished little more than alienating ourselves from one another. We have in many ways stagnated because of politics based more on winners and losers than what is needed for the progress and vitality of our nation. It’s time for more of the kind of profiles in courage that President John Kennedy lauded in his Pulitzer Prize winning book that told of individuals who bravely stood up for what was best for the nation.

It is difficult for me to be particularly excited about this day and yet the very fact that we are able to pass the baton of leadership from one man to another in such a peaceful manner is cause for joy. I celebrate that I have been and will be able to assert my beliefs without worry of being silenced. There are few places in the world where that is a  reality. I don’t actually feel that we have to make America great again because I think that it is already one of the most wonderful places to live on the planet even with its issues. Our goal should simply be to continue to make it better and to realize that such a task is never truly complete.

We all know that there are a multitude of difficulties that we face as a nation. I’m not nearly naive or idealistic enough to believe that we will do so without major disagreements. It is virtually impossible to please everyone in a family much less a country as populated and diverse as ours. Still I desire more than anything for our leaders to demonstrate the wisdom and nobility that is needed to understand and bind our wounds. We citizens must do our parts as well by helping to dispel so much of the anger and divisiveness that has characterized our society for far too long.

There is a song in the musical Into the Woods called Children Will Listen which seems quite appropriate on this day as we watch our government at work:

How do you say to your child in the night?

Nothing’s all black, but then nothing’s all white.

How do you say it will be all right

When you know that it might not be true?

What do you do?

Careful the things you say

Children will listen

Careful the things you do

Children will see and learn

Children may not obey, but children will listen

Children will look to you for which way to turn

To learn what to be.

Careful before you say, “Listen to me.”

I do not and never have pretended to know all the answers. Audacity and self-righteousness can be lethal. It is all right to admit that we may be wrong about certain things and that answers are not always as clear as we might want them to be. To tackle the issues that lie before us will require a willingness to listen to one another just as the children listen to us with an eye to remembering that what we do today will affect our little ones tomorrow. As the song says, the spell we cast may last past what we can see. Let us all pledge to encourage our leaders, especially our new president, to make choices that are in keeping with liberty and justice for all. God bless and be with the United States of America. The children will be listening.

Meh?

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

winter-dayThe twinkly lights are gone. The tinsel is packed away in the attic. It’s that time of year when the year stretches alarmingly in front of us with more work on our schedules than entertainment. We’ve made resolutions to avoid all of those yummy but unhealthy foods that we secretly love so much and find ourselves munching on raw carrot sticks and celery. The days tend to be dark and dreary with winter storms popping up again and again. Here in my hometown a series of training storms dumped several inches of rain yesterday leaving roads flooded and impassible in many parts of the city. The memories of the recent holiday seem to be in the very distant past rather than just a couple of weeks ago. It’s back to the routine with a vengeance and for some of us it’s the time of year when we have the most difficult time being enthusiastic.

We have taxes to pay and have to face those bills that we accumulated over the holidays. We get notices that our heath insurance premiums will rise once again. We wonder if we will even have health insurance with all of the arguing in Washington D.C. We hear of layoffs in businesses near us and watch the price of gasoline rising again. Some of us look forward to the inauguration of a new president with the same level of excitement that we would feel in undergoing a root canal. We dream of hibernating like a bear until the sun returns in April. Even better are thoughts of escaping to a tropical paradise.

In the schools so many teachers are noticing that their students have seemingly shut down. They arrive unprepared and listless. Their grades are tumbling and they appear to not even care. Motivating them is sometimes a Herculean task. Frustration abounds.

What is it that causes us to become so lethargic and sometimes even depressed each year as January rolls around? Only days after making all of those noble promises to be better so many of us lose interest. It feels as though we are in our sophomore year of high school once again. The best part of the year feels so far away and seemingly endless piles of work loom ahead. Why is it so ingrained in our natures to hit the doldrums in the grey days of winter?

We’ve all heard about people who become so despondent in January that they are said to have SAD disease, seasonal affective disorder. It is the tendency of some individuals to suffer with deep feelings of melancholy at the same time each year. Notably there appear to be more cases of SAD disease when the days are short. It is often linked to a surfeit of sunshine and one of the recommended treatments is to spend time under lighting that mimics the rays of the sun. Somehow this therapy actually works in many cases because we need a certain amount of daylight to feel balanced. As with almost anything, some of us need more than others.

I suspect that most of us experience particular days or times when we don’t feel as energetic and enthusiastic as normal. We feel a certain sense of dread when we face tasks that appear to be almost insurmountable. We have a difficult time envisioning how to break down our demands into doable chunks. We are often overly doubtful about our abilities to maintain the strict routines that we need to ultimately lead to successful conclusions. When the days are long and we have opportunities to end our work days with rewarding relaxation in the sun, we feel a bit better about our responsibilities. When our days begin and end in the dark it is less likely that we will be able to shake the feeling that life is filled with drudgery. We get low and just want to crawl under our blankets and wait out the long winter months.

The trick to finding the happiness that we seek is to keep moving forward, one step at a time. Each of us has more power within ourselves than we have the capacity to imagine. We just have to push ourselves enough to free the talents that are always there. We also need to accept that true achievement is rarely easy.

I saw a news item about a young man who was born with no arms or legs. He has pushed himself to overcome his disabilities from the time that he was a young child. In the process he has mastered a number of athletic skills. He runs with prosthetics. He learned to use the stubs that should have been his hands to type and catch and throw. The one thing that he most wanted to do was climb a mountain. It at first seemed to be an impossible goal but with the help of skilled adventurers who had reached the summit of many a peak he began to practice moving over rugged rocks. He had to literally crawl using the four stumps of his appendages. He wore specially designed leather covers to keep from tearing his skin as he slowly pulled himself along. Because of his disabilities it took him four or five times longer to cover the same ground as his fellow climbers. Even with the protective gear that he wore his skin became raw and excruciatingly painful. For many it seemed as though he was embarking on a hopeless task that was far too dangerous to even try but he was insistent that he only needed to concentrate on making one small bit of progress at a time. With a will of steel he not only made it once but has now climbed multiple mountains and has no intention of stopping. Instead of drowning himself in sorrow and regret he has constantly pushed himself to accomplish his dreams by realizing that all that it really takes is a willingness to face each day with a spirit of can do optimism, rather than wasting time worrying about what he lacks.

My husband’s famous words to our family have always been, “Stick with the plan.” That doesn’t mean that there will not be delays or that our routes will never change direction. It simply implies that we need not give up in frustration when things get really tough. Realistically we can all expect to have some days when our energy wanes and we just don’t have the oomph that we need. There is nothing wrong with giving ourselves a mental health vacation now and again. Sometimes that may take the form of sleeping in and staying in our pajamas all day long. The important thing is to get back on the path again and follow our individual yellow brick roads. Happiness really is to be found inside ourselves and nothing makes us feel better than overcoming our fears and realizing that we are capable of far more than we had imagined.

We’ve all experienced the elation of a wonderful moment when we manage to tame the voices inside our heads that hold us back. For me it was connecting a bat to a baseball and watching it soar over an open field. I have known that feeling of elation when I managed to bring true understanding to a struggling student. Getting to the end of a difficult road is as wonderful as the merriment of Christmas. As we begin our journeys anew each January we need to remind ourselves that it will be spring before we even know it so there is nothing to frown about in the dreary days of winter. Instead, embrace the moment. Enjoy the diversity of the year and never forget that there will always be fellow travelers to help us as we crawl along. We’ve all got this no matter how difficult it may seem, so don’t grumble with a “Meh,” just smile.

Time and Place

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

7aea08a23754ac4ae7fb7ce0b0ca8567.jpgI was a very young child when my father died suddenly. I had a rather difficult time grasping the reality of the situation. For a very long time I had recurrent dreams in which he would return home, explaining that he had been on a long business trip. We were overjoyed to learn that he was okay and our lives continued just as they had before his fatal car accident. Sometimes even in the light of day I would have moments when I almost forgot that he was gone. I expected to see him coming through the front door smiling. Then I would remember what had happened and feel a sense of grief overtake me. Slowly but surely over a period of many months I adjusted to the reality of my situation and it was a painful experience filled with sadness and many fears.

Since that tragic time in my life I have endured other losses but none quite as surprising and gut wrenching as the death of my father. Nonetheless there were moments when I  dreamed of other loved ones who had died with such vivid reality that it seemed as though they really were still here with me. I would awake feeling disoriented and extremely disappointed upon realizing that my mind had played tricks on me. I suspect that my night time reunions with the departed were a kind of survival mechanism to help me ease into the stark realization that my world had dramatically changed and there was nothing more that I might do about it other than learn how to cope.

I have been quite weary since November. I still think back on the instant when it became clear that Donald J. Trump was going to be the next President of the United States and my mind goes foggy as though I am grappling with a concept that still has not quite computed in my brain. I was barely awake when his victory was declared at nearly three in the morning. I think that I actually went into shock. I remember seeing President Elect Trump’s face in those first moments and I believe to this very day that he was almost as surprised by his victory as I was. During those few moments when he first learned that he would be the leader of our nation he appeared genuinely humble and perhaps even a bit afraid. I almost wish he would stay that way but alas he has regained his old bravado.

I awoke early the morning after the election feeling groggy and a bit hungover, not from drink but from the brew of disbelief that still kept me from accepting what had happened. I fully expected to learn that I had only imagined that a man who seemed so singularly unqualified for the highest office in the land had actually won. In the days and weeks following I became engaged in a flurry of activity that included my birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the dawn of a new year. I even lost my dear sweet cousin Jack to heart disease. All of these things kept me busy enough that I rarely even thought about the election or any of my fears of what might happen once Donald Trump takes the oath and becomes our head of state. It was not until the lights and glitter of the holiday season were tucked away that I began to think about what had happened. Amazingly I have yet to fully embrace the realities to come. Somehow I harbor the same disbelief that overtook me when my father died. I expect to learn at any minute that the whole election season had been an elaborate joke or a very bad dream.

I feel a bit weary from all of the back and forth and hatefulness that was so much a part of the election season. I’m very tired of the invective and bitterness. I’m ready to sit back and give the man a chance to demonstrate that he is not as ill suited for the job as I think he is. I grasp at moments when he actually assumes a presidential demeanor and try to give him credit when it is due. I don’t believe that writing him off before he has even begun will do our country any good. Self fulfilling prophecies rarely bring positive results. I tell myself that I need to be vigilant but also fair in judging Donald J. Trump and hope that he will prove me wrong. I would like nothing better than to witness him rising to the occasion and showing compassion and understanding for all of the citizens of our nation.

I am a peacemaker by nature, a diplomat. I believe in compromise and the power of finding points of agreement between differing camps. Deep down inside we all want a better world for our children. We unfortunately have conflicting visions of what that looks like. Sometimes the best answer to our problems is the one that takes into account everyone’s feelings. I worry that we are now so divided that we will automatically spurn offers of an olive branch even when it seems wise to give a little to get a little of what we want and need. Right now the knee jerk reactions from both sides of the political spectrum indicate that we are not yet ready to surrender our implacable points of view, which gets me to a pet peeve of mine.

I love to watch awards shows like the Grammys, Emmys, and Academy Awards. I enjoy the pomp and the celebrity of such celebrations. They provide me with an escape from the tedium of day to day realities, just as the artistry that they honor also brings me relaxation and momentary forgetfulness about the troubles that plague us. Fantasy has a way of helping us to cope just as the dreams of my father did. We want it to take us away from whatever is bothering us, not remind us of our worries. When we enter Disney World we become enchantingly entranced and leave our hurts and fears at the gate. So it is with music, television and movies. Our minds feel free as we momentarily forget whatever has been bothering us. When we honor the gifted individuals who give us the gift of their talents we want to be festive, not political. If we wanted to hear editorials we would tune in to Meet the Press or read the opinion pieces of the Washington Post.

During George W. Bush’s presidency the awards programming became boorish to me. It was almost certain that someone would launch into a tirade that I didn’t want to hear even if I agreed with the thoughts. It seemed an inappropriate time in which those of us in the audience were being held captive to points of view that had little relevance to the reason for the event. I slowly began to switch channels when such things happened and to be conditioned to not even tune in at all. For the most part these antics have disappeared in the last eight years because most celebrities were strong supporters of President Obama. Now I fear that the tactics will begin anew and I will have to abandon my viewing in protest.

I have always considered Meryl Streep to be one of the finest actresses to ever grace the silver screen. Many decades ago I listed her as my favorite star and that admiration has not abated over time. She is a gracious and supremely talented woman. I am well aware that she was a dedicated supporter of Hillary Clinton. I think she might even be a grand person to one day portray Ms. Clinton in a biopic. I deeply respect her political views as well as her disappointment in the outcome of the election because I am as stunned and worried as she is. At the Golden Globes she was given a well deserved lifetime achievement award. The acceptance speech that she gave was moderated and heartfelt but it was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A simple thank you to those who gave her this distinction was all that we needed to hear. There will be ample time and multiple places to more appropriately deliver her message. I would ask her and other celebrities to please just entertain us. We need our moments of escape and when we want to hear what they are thinking we will tune in to programming that is designed for discussions and opinions. We will read their tweets and ponder their editorials when they appear in the proper settings. We don’t want to hear lectures when our purpose is to pause from the irritations of life for an hour or two.

Celebrities must understand that we ordinary folk live in the big middle of the furor. We don’t have fences around our compounds. We have no cooks or cleaning ladies. We are our children’s nannies. We work hard and have very little free time on any given day. We have bills to pay and repairs to make. It’s not that we don’t care about the issues that are so vital to the artists who entertain us. It is only that we need a break now and again which is why we love the movies, shows and music that these gifted individuals provide us. When it comes time to honor the best of the best we want to see a celebration not a political rally. That is all that we ask. If they think about it perhaps they will understand.