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Last night’s Oscar broadcast was supposedly designed to appeal to a ’young, hip’ demographic, especially with its choice of hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway – but many found the annual awards show’s efforts to fall short. Many aspects of the show were fairly predictable, and some routines simply failed to inspire altogether. But there were a few bright moments – and the biggest stars of the night may turn out to be Staten Island’s PS22 Chorus with this number in the final minutes of the show:
New York Times op-ed columnist Charles M. Blow wrote a powerful opinion column entitled “Empire at the End of Decadence” in which he challenges us to look honestly at our country’s condition, compared to other industrialized countries. It is definitely worth our time to consider our actions (both locally and nationally) against the backdrop of this reality:
You may have already heard that the Iowa House of Representatives approved a resolution on Tuesday that proposes a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. One of the most impressive moments of this debate came in the 3-minute speech of Zach Wahls, a 19 year old University of Iowa student and the child of a same-sex couple.
About ten years ago Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book called The Tipping Point in which he examined what key factors determined whether a particular trend will “tip” into wide-scale popularity. This blog attempts to keep an eye on what’s on the horizon. As far as I can see, the courage and clarity of young people like Zach Wahls will surely shift the national debate over marriage equality - this speech could be part of the tipping point.
