I am lucky enough to have
places in town that show BBC and CNN. The nice hotel with wi-fi where I spend a
lot of my time during the week will (sometimes) turn it on and occasionally the
teachers in my teachers lounge will decide to tune into the news instead of the
normal loop of Tirgrinya music and Amharic soap operas. That being said, most
of my news these days and learning what is happening in the world tends to come
from my Facebook news feed. That means that normally the only things I’m
learning about are just what my friends find important, and as much as I love
them, they generally aren’t well informed.
I
can’t always catch up on what is happening around the world and in the US in
terms of politics, religion, and social issues through FB and when I do, it’s
normally through a poorly researched status or a very opinionated article
share. I don’t claim to be any better about what I post, but I do shy away from
anything too controversial or opinionated. I believe those conversations are
much better had when you don’t have the option to shy away from your words
behind a keyboard with no interpretation of the body or voice of the other person.
Generally the “news” I learn about through my newsfeed is much more fluffy and
pop culture, rather than in depth news stories.
In
the past week my news feed has been completely taken up by articles shared by
my friends and family about these red Starbucks cups. Now anyone that knows me
knows how much I love Starbucks and how excited I get when it’s red cup season.
Last year my Aunt Karen and Uncle Ernie even sent me some as a joke in my
Christmas package last year (shout out to y’all!). However, I am completely
stumped as to why this is an issue at all. I am a Christian, I attended church
regularly (well, tried to) at home and I have my religious views. I celebrate
Christmas, do all the “Christmas-y” things including attending church services,
and my list of pageant characters I played is pages long.
I am aware though that not
everyone holds the same beliefs I do, and that is what makes both America and
the world as a whole so much more interesting. I love learning about new
cultures, religions, and beliefs and celebrating those who look at the world in
a different way. The holidays in America are a great reflection of just how
diverse our world and country is. I understand wanting to celebrate a holiday
that has become so engrained in the holiday spirit, even if not in the
religious sense, but in the culture sense. You can’t go places without
Christmas, because it has become such a part of mainstream America. On the
other hand, I understand wanting to keep the holidays as a time to reflect on
the past year, but keeping in mind that not everyone celebrates Christmas and
believes in the same things.
There are people who hold
strong beliefs and are willing to hurt people to share their opinions on both
sides of aisle. You have the religious people who want to celebrate Christmas
and then you have the people who want Christmas banned completely. I think,
like most issues, there is a compromise that can be reached and if people were
just willing to work together and walk a mile in another person’s shoes, the issue
would be solved. However, like we all know- compromise is not many people’s
strong suit, and especially on something as personal as religion, even less so.
So back to the Starbucks cup
“issue”. What’s the big deal? Either way, no one is going to be satisfied.
Again, all I know of what is going on is my brothers synopsis for me on
FaceTime and the titles of the articles I have scanned through while scrolling
through my newsfeed (no, I have not actually read any of the articles, I have
just seen the titles). I doubt Starbucks thought, “Let’s see how we can piss a
ton of people off. Let’s change the design of our cups and call it a war on
Christmas”. Who knows, that might have been their aim, I can’t read their minds.
But I think they were just trying to be culturally sensitive and please the
other side of the people who are claiming Starbucks is promoting Christmas.
Both sides are crazy and over doing it. Whatever your beliefs are, I think the
idea of hope, love, snow, and everything else during the holidays is something
that all religions and beliefs have in common. I have absolutely no care in the
world on this subject and I think both sides need to take a chill pill and
realize that there are bigger issues out there.
Which brings me to the
country I have called home for more than a year. I know there are a lot of
things going on in the world, including natural disasters, an immigrant crisis,
and a lot of insane world leaders. In Ethiopia there is currently a famine. Not
a famine like the one in the 90’s that everyone tends to think of. But it is
one of the highest famine rates in the world currently. The most recent number
is 8.2 million people in need of food aid. I’m not talking about poor people
who are living less than you are, I’m talking about people who are barely
surviving on even less than they already had.
I don’t know the exact
details of this I’m sad to say, but I do want you to pause reading this for a
minute and think about that number… 8.2 MILLION PEOPLE. That’s a really big
number, and it’s scary to think that I live in a country where circumstances
are that bad. It is not really affecting where I live, it’s mostly in some of
the other regions that were already having issues, but it’s still happening.
There are lots of bad things
that happen every day, including in America. There are people who are dying
from natural and unnatural causes and there is still sickness and unhappiness. Yeah,
a really nice thought. But this holiday season there is always happiness, love,
and hope as well. That’s what I love about the holidays- it gives people a new
chance to give to the people around them. I went with my dad and brother a few
years to serve Thanksgiving lunch to the homeless and it made me feel so much
better about helping others, and made me more thankful for my own Thanksgiving
dinner when I did have it.
I promise I’m not going to
try and guilt you. I’m not going to send you pictures of the famine over here
and ask you to donate money with sad music in the background. I’m not going to
tell you to get over your own problems. I hate when people use the “there are
people starving in Africa, so stop worrying about yourself” saying because I
still think mostly about myself, and I believe we do have the right to complain
about whatever it is, even though worse things are happening. If you are having
a hard time of it, you should get to feel sorry for yourself (just don’t go too
far), because everyone has a different level of frustration and just because
someone else is suffering doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.
However, after all of
that—there is something to be said for remembering perspective. Why is the
Starbucks cup thing such a big deal? A company who used to make things a little
bit Christmas-y to make money decided to change one thing to make it more inclusive
and they are still making money. To everyone who is worried about Starbucks and
the business decisions they make, I ask you to use your time and thoughts and
worry about a problem that’s much bigger than a cup and more about human lives.
Whether it’s the famine in Ethiopia, a civil war, an immigrant crisis, or a
flood in Pakistan, I challenge you to educate yourself about an issue in your
own back yard or across the globe.
The holiday season for me has
always been about more than carols, candy canes, presents, the birth of Jesus,
or luminarias. From Thanksgiving to New Years I loved the feeling of warmth,
love, hope, and joy. For me, the holidays represent something that can’t be
wrapped in a bow. It’s about acceptance, friendship, family, forgiveness, and
remembering how much your own life means. That may sound cheesy, but it’s true.
As this holiday season rolls around I challenge you to forget about the red
Starbucks cups and all of the junk that comes with a commercial Christmas. I
challenge you to think about those less fortunate than yourself, whether it be
a down and out friend or family member, a story from a state away, or a crisis
on the other side of the globe. If you are a religious person I ask you to pray
for them, if you aren’t I ask that you keep them in your thoughts.
As you wake up every morning
and go about your day and life, even on your hard days, I hope you realize how
lucky you are. Again, I’m not asking you to feel bad for those who are
suffering and I’m not trying to guilt trip anybody. But, I do want you to
remember how sometimes perspective is all you need. So smile because you are
breathing, think about those who need help, and then be willing to help them in
any way you can, no matter how small. Forget those Starbucks cups, be aware of
the 8.2 million Ethiopians in famine, and be grateful for everything you have
in your life in the weeks and months to come.
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