tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35601540633065245702011-07-07T22:32:38.198-07:00A Sixteen Year Oldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13132333674790793642noreply@blogger.comBlogger21100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560154063306524570.post-86716231241778027002009-08-31T08:05:00.000-07:002009-09-01T02:39:44.201-07:00I watched the movie "Doubt" the other day. The character played by Philip Seymour Hoffman retold a very famous story that I think needs to be told one more time. It's a good lesson to learn.<div><br /></div><div>Two women were friends. One day, one of the women was jealous of her friend and started spreading lies about her around the neighbourhood. Soon her friend had a bad reputation due to the lies that her friend told. </div><div><br /></div><div>The woman felt bad about the lies she spread and went to her confessor in church. "Father forgive me for I have sinned" she said. She then asked him "Father, is gossip a sin?"</div><div><br /></div><div>He said "Of course it is my child". He then instructed her to go home and stand on her balcony and rip open a pillow. She did so and watched the feathers float away from her house. </div><div><br /></div><div>She was confused as to what this meant. So she went back to confession and said "Father I don't understand". The priest replied "now go home and pick up all those feathers."</div><div><br /></div><div>"But father, that's impossible. The feathers have flown everywhere, to places I don't even know where."</div><div><br /></div><div>"That, my child, is gossip"</div><div><br /></div><div>---------------------------------</div><div><br /></div><div>There's also a famous Chinese saying: once the bucket is spilled it's hard to retrieve the water.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the days of politician sex scandals (South Carolina Governer), famous deaths (Michael Jackson) and presidential elections, gossip can turn out to be an annoyingly deciding factor in the way things turn out. And it's hard to reverse the consequences of the slip of the tongue.</div><div><br /></div><div>-Teen</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3560154063306524570-8671623124177802700?l=worldthroughtheeyesofateen.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>A Sixteen Year Oldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13132333674790793642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560154063306524570.post-54123321248564310402009-08-29T09:15:00.000-07:002009-08-29T09:34:51.757-07:00Today was Ted Kennedy's Memorial Service. Four Presidents attended. Tens of thousands filed past his casket and paid their respects. The top news on CNN.com for the past three days have all been related to his death.<div><br /></div><div>Ted was a great man. There is much I can list but I'm sure you can read about his great achievements on any news website or blog right now. A pioneer for civil rights, a peacemaker in Northern Ireland and an early supporter of Barack Obama, Ted Kennedy was one of my heroes. A great man died on August 25th 2009. May he Rest In Peace.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, the life of this great man is not what this post is about. When I heard of his passing, I tweeted "Despite having accidentally killed a woman and having been expelled from Harvard, a great man died today. RIP Ted Kennedy".</div><div><br /></div><div>I immediately received a reply from another tweeter saying "save it for another day. This is why conservatives look insensitive".</div><div><br /></div><div>First, I am not a conservative. Nor am I a liberal. I tend to think of myself as a healthy in-between. But it's my second point that's more important. </div><div><br /></div><div>Ted Kennedy was my hero. But like other great, he has his faults. And his passing doesn't immediately absolve him of his little mistakes in his life. If I had posted "Ted Kennedy got expelled from Harvard" a day before his death, no one would have cared.</div><div><br /></div><div>A similar trend followed the passing of Michael Jackson (RIP). As a HUGE MJ fan, I was surprised to see his music shoot to the top of the charts. Although I was happy for him, I thought it was a bit weird that people became fans of him AFTER his death. A few days before, the same people would probably have been making jokes about his false accusations of child molestation. </div><div><br /></div><div>Both men were great. Both men did a lot for us. But both had there little setbacks and made small mistakes in their lives. Death doesn't erase their past. Being accused of being an insensitive conservative for wishing my hero peace in his resting definitely annoying. </div><div><br /></div><div>On the other hand, I was pleased to see the Harvard Twitter account to tweet back on my RIP Kennedy. Clearly his alma mater hasn't forgotten him. As millions across the world haven't either.</div><div><br /></div><div>RIP Ted Kennedy. Thank you.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3560154063306524570-5412332124856431040?l=worldthroughtheeyesofateen.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>A Sixteen Year Oldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13132333674790793642noreply@blogger.com1