Echaves: 2016

CHRISTMAS Day is literally just around the corner, and a week after, a new year shall be upon us.

By now, news stations are finalizing their year-enders to cap 2016 by. Meaning, how has the year been when sunset comes?

Too often, a common lament is why news stations air or print only the bad news. How about the good news?

Often, the tongue-in-cheek response is that bad news sells while good news doesn’t.

Truth to tell, though, bad news doesn’t happen every day. Like our own lives, we go through each day with nothing jolting us out of our daily routines.

So, when something unusual happens, we sit up and take notice. When somebody celebrates another birthday, it’s hardly news. But when Queen Elizabeth II turned 90, of course that was news. Hey, even the word nanogenarian is not commonly used or understood.

How has Year 2016 been so far? Both good and bad.

Death came in many forms. For one, loss of lives. Through natural calamities like earthquakes in Ecuador in April, central Italy in August, Indonesia in September, and hurricanes in October.

Loss of lives through evil intent and deed like the coordinated bombings in Brussels and Belgium, the Isis attacks in Indonesia, explosions in Istanbul in December, bomb attacks in Malaysia and Thailand, shootings in Florida, Dallas, and Baton, Rouge, and the continuing mass destruction of the Syria city Aleppo, now described as akin to hell.

Loss of lives through human error or carelessnessness like the crash of EgyptAir in May, and the plane crash in Colombia just last month.

Death came in the disrespect for institutions, the desecration of holy structures and the disposal of old alliances.

Despite strong words from the US and China, and threats of sanctions from the United Nations, North Korea flaunts its bad-boy image and even conducted its fifth biggest nuclear test, having started it in January.

The St. Elijah, built in the 6th century, was one of the oldest Christian monasteries in Iraq. For 1,400 years it stood on a hill. But in 2014, ISIS razed it to the ground.

Despite the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague about the Philippines’ claim in the South China Sea dispute, China flexes its muscles and turns a deaf ear to the ruling.

And in the UK, people are still reeling from the referendum results in June on the British exit or “Brexit” from the European Union.

Death came in the world’s deprivation of various icons and walking reminders of greatness. The music industry lost Prince, David Bowie, and Leonard Cohen.

The world of sports said final goodbyes to professional boxer and activist Muhammad Ali, and professional golfer Arnold Palmer.

Theater lost Gene Wilder, film and theater comic actor, screenwriter, film director and author.

Aviator, engineer and astronaut John Glenn Jr. was the first American to orbit the Earth, circling three times. 

Death came in opportunity losses. Hillary Clinton almost broke the glass ceiling, but instead became the ex-future first female president of the United States.

Two other women broke through their ceilings and became the first female leaders of their countries--Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff and South Korea’s Park Geun-Hye.

But impeached for corruption, they instead wasted their miracles. A crying shame!

(lelani.echavez@gmail.com)

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