Monday, June 6, 2016

But So Not A Hero

The death of Muhammad Ali is receiving as much media coverage as the funeral of a president, and while I don't get that at all, nor am I impressed with a handful of media types who refer to Ali as a "hero."

Call Ali a champion, a celebrity, call him a leader for civil rights, call him the world's best father and husband, call him a man who suffered tremendously since his boxing days -- or call him "The Greatest."  But he's not a hero.  Who is he?  Well, his adherence to the Nation of Islam sure isn't a selling point.  Otherwise, Ali was a boxer who bulldozed his fists into heads, causing brain trauma to others -- as others awarded him the same treatment, all in the name of money, glory and the mine-is-bigger-than-yours syndrome upon which the world of sports depends and thrives.

Um, does anybody care about people of any and all races who actually invent something useful around the house?  Why does it always need to be blood splatters, bone crunches and pain developed pretty much through commercially-sanctioned and televised sadomasochism?

I wonder if Muhammad Ali might have saved soldiers' lives in Vietnam as, perhaps, a medical corpsman, had he not become a conscientious objector who refused to serve?

Go ahead, have the funeral and honor Ali's athletic achievements, but must we dwell on this death far beyond the way we grieve for others?

Why doesn't the media bestow the same honors upon, say -- a black man who died in Vietnam while serving courageously?  This would truly be the hero, defined.  A hero, not a champion showered with trinkets.

America is a country obsessed with the "glamour" of death as it applies to dead athletes, rock stars and actors, and we know all the reasons why.  But while so many focus upon the glitz and glitter, few seem willing to descend from a sky filled with balloon fantasies in order to attempt a repair of the human heart's and brain's infrastructure.

Meanwhile, radical morons continue burning American flags while raising Mexican flags, assuring exactly the variety of public concern they hope NOT to foster.  Violent crowds will only get worse as the political season forges ahead, and one wonders when and if these thugs will receive what they truly deserve, should worse become worst.
 
Wishing a fast and safe return of the legendary Frank Warren to THE UFO CHRONICLES (see link).  We miss his frequent updates regarding UFOs, science and technology.

I should also take this opportunity to reiterate that I have no idea about the politics of those to whom I list links.  I originally compiled the list when I wrote exclusively about UFOs, and links remain because I feel each is important and informative in its own way.

No, no Hillary!   I'm not voting for president, I'm voting for the Supreme Court's next justice.  If Trump is the answer, that will have to do.