2012 Rewind: Things that I Remember

Here’s my list of things that I remember the most from 2012 – which doesn’t include Higgs Boson (I really don’t know what that is) or space shuttle Discover. I know I must have forgotten a lot of great things that have happened. But here are the top ones that came to mind…

1. Harvard Baseball guys’ “Call Me Maybe” video, which is arguably better than Carly Ray Jepson’s real video, started a bandwagon of people doing the same, including one by Abercrombie & Fitch and USA olympic team swimmers.

2. Meryl Streep, one my my favorite actresses of all time, won Best Actress for her performance in “The Iron Lady. Meryl’s been nominated 17 times for the Oscars, winning three. She holds the record for the most-nominated actor/actress for Academy Awards.

3. The Queen’s entrance to the London Olympic Games 2012 with Daniel Craig. In August, we were all captivated by US swimming team and woman’s gymnastics – both performed spectacularly and took home many Gold medals.

4. MSNBC announced that President Obama wins Ohio, and thus, the Election. More importantly, better yet, Megan Kelly’s raw reaction to Obama’s win on Fox News.

5. There were many weird things during the 2012 campaign, including vicious campaign ads. Among them, the one I remember the most is Clint Eastwood’s speech at the Republican National Convention…yep the one where he talks to an empty chair

6. While PSY does deserve much credit for being the world’s most recognizable Korean pop musician, but nothing beats “Mitt Romney Style” from College Humor. Though *ahem* politically incorrect, but too hilarious to not to be noticed.

7. True, when we think about the Summer Olympics, we think about Gabby Douglas and the whole woman gymnastics team; Or perhaps the inspirational Oscar Pistorius (this is one of my favorite pics); and Maybe the swimmers like Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps…ok let’s dwell on the swimmers for a minute…the British ones… especially when they lip synced LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It”

8. Burmese opposition leader, Aung Sung Suu Kyi, one of the most commendable democratic icons in international politics, was elected to Burmese parliament after 20 years in house arrest. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, but couldn’t receive it then because she was under house arrest, but this year, she was finally able to make it to Oslo to give her lecture.

9. The story of Shane Crone and Tom Bridegroom probably touched everyone in the LGBTQ community, when Shane released this powerful video, “It Could Happen to You,” earlier this year in remembrance of his boyfriend. His story highlights many struggles, still current, in the LGBTQ community. I believe that our country is making progress on this front, as shown by more and more Fortune 500 companies pushing non-discrimination and diversity policies. I believe members of the LGBTQ community will be fully integrated into the American society in the near future. One day, our lives won’t be politicized anymore because liberty and freedom are historic forces that no single political group can prevent in a free society.

10. Ok, that’s really all I can think of at the moment. Here’s a place holder, but rather, an urging for your to go see Les Miserables in theater! I watched it last night. It was great. This sure-to-be blockbuster musical remake of Victor Hugo’s classic 19th century novel will challenge you intellectually and emotionally on so many levels. You’ll undoubtedly extract a lot from it like I have.

2012 has been a wonderful year for me. I learned so much and met so many people. I cannot be more ready for 2013. I sincerely wish all of you a Happy New Year! May you have a prosperous year and may the Lord be at your side always. There’ll be good and better things coming your way, I’m sure. Have faith.  Let’s celebrate life together!

Principled Compromise is OK

Where there is discord, may we bring harmony.

Where there is error, may we bring truth.

Where there is doubt, may we bring faith.

And where there is despair, we may bring hope.

– Margaret Thatcher, upon winning her premiership in 1979

Recently, I finished reading the book The Iron Lady by John Campbell, who skillfully and objectively detailed the political career of Margaret Thatcher, the longest serving prime minister in the history of Great Britain. There is much to be learned from Lady Thatcher in today’s state of politics. Being the first – and still only – woman British prime minister, leading a major western nation during the downfall of soviet communism and against the global advance of socialism, Lady Thatcher was regarded as a “conviction politician” who fought hard for what she believed was best for her country and the free world. During her time, her challenges were unique: stagflation, inefficient bureaucracy, ballooning public spending, the very real threat from Soviet hegemony, the ideological struggle against collectivism, domestic terrorism, defending British sovereignty, and militant unions. Surrounded by Cabinet full of men (there was only one woman she appointed to her Cabinet during her years in office), she resolutely argued – perhaps too doggedly – against collectivist “wet” ideas within her own Government, which in her view were simply wrong. In doing so, she alienated many of her colleagues. At times though, she had to give in to others. However, she tried to be a principled leader. That is the kind of politicians that we direly need in our nation’s Capital today: pragmatic ideologues.

Politics is an Easy Pill to Swallow But Could Only Do So Much

As the nation continues to grapple with the aftermath of last Friday’s tragic massacre that took twenty seven lives, twenty of which are small children, gun control activists and their dormant political allies spared no time to hog the limelight in an attempt to push their own agendas. Washington Post and The New York Times Editorial Boards surely joined in on this chorus on gun control. There has even been a push to change our constitution! At a time like this, when our nation mourns and prays for those affected by the tragedy, we could use an alternative discourse on violence in order to maintain our own sanity and to honor the dead with a level of cool-headed dignity that was lacking in the killer’s head. We must steer away from the agenda-driven, big-government “solution” to instead focus more on mental health issues, community engagement, strengthening the family, and yes, faith-based values in the public sphere.

Of course, our first thought at times like this is, “What can be done to prevent it from happening next time?” The truth of the matter is that we live amongst people from all walks of life, that any one person’s sanity could be deemed insane by the next person. The point is that we can never eradicate insanity from the society because our fragile mental makeup as human beings is always susceptible to environmental dictates. Evil lives amongst us. Heck, Psychopathic killers have been living and working amongst us for centuries. While the grave tragedy that we all had to endure and absorb as parents, friends, mentors, community leaders, and distant observers deserves serious attention and reflection, we should refrain from crusading for nonsensical laws crafted based on emotions rather than reason. The same kind of nonsensical, erratic behavior exhibited by the shooter should be especially avoided by our nation’s top political leaders. This is not meant as an attack on the good intentions of many politicians and public figures, but it is an indictment on the act of employing the same impulsive response to life’s many turbulent trials with no regard to the underlying cause. No law can stop Adam Lanza from his evil rampage. No law can identify and help those most mentally vulnerable individuals living amongst us. We tend to think and believe that we have the answer to everything in this world. That is not true, as apparent from our many collective failures as a society in recent years (poor education system that lags behind China and India, rising poverty rates among minorities, and still high incarceration rates for young Blacks, etc.). Often time both politicians and those violent perpetrators are two sides of the same coin: victims of their own conceit and ignorance.