Meryl...

The world is filled with literally billions of people. We are all here, we are all present and accounted for. We each walk separate journey's, different lives and each have a belief system that is sometimes similar to anothers, but never identical. Each of us, told we are no less and no more important than another. Yet we know this is not exactly true. Our lives, livelihoods, connections, friends, family, neighborhoods etc, in fact divide us up in very real ways. Long before politics and religion come into play. The platform we find ourselves upon, may not be as large as the one we need; the spotlight may not shine on us in the same way it does someone else. 
If ever given the opportunity to speak in a very public way; to reach millions of people in one moment, I do hope that I would choose to make it about something other than myself. 
Meryl Streep had her moment last night. She has had a career that is one to echo greatness and delight. She has entertained us all for many years in many ways. She had a choice, she could stand there, on a stage being broadcast to literally billions of people and spend her time patting herself on the back. Throwing out wistful advice for those less experienced, or turning a phrase to just make us all laugh. 
She chose instead to recognize how fortunate she was to be standing there, in that moment, on that stage. She took that privilege and used it to highlight something much more important than herself, her career or the award she held in her hands. 
You don't have to agree with her words, you don't even have to like her movies or theater performances. That's the unique blessing of being in America, she can say and believe what she wants, and so can you. 
I, for one, thought her message was a much better use of her moment, than spewing self-professed accolades of how awesome her career has been. She chose to speak in defense of those who often can not defend themselves. She chose to remind us all that while the world is indeed troubled, we look to our leaders for guidance; that these leaders should in fact guide us and not degrade, seek to humiliate, nor bully the vulnerable. 
With the arrest of 4 Chicago youth last week for literally torturing, humiliating, degrading and bullying a young man with special needs, how can anyone NOT see the problem with our countries most important leader mocking the disabled, inciting violence, bullying and degrading. 
I do not blame him for the choices these youth made; yet we must ask ourselves what influence is it we want our children to look up to. We can choose to sit in silence or we can speak up. We can respectfully disagree and still call out disgust when we see it. It is our job as parents, citizens and human beings to call out the wrong and project the right. Being the President is not a free pass!! 
We can not become 'involved' if we do not speak up and speak out. We MUST always, always SPEAK. 
#MerylStreep #GoldenGlobes #CecilBDeMille #AmericaFalling #AllCitizens#UnitedWeStand