Thursday, December 27, 2007

Time Person of the Year

Time's Person of the Year: Vladimir Putin

My choice for Person of the Year, well there would be many.  Al Gore and the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change would top the list.  They won a Nobel Peace Prize working on a major issue that will affect the world for the rest of time, does that not scream Person of the Year?  Maybe the monks in Burma.  Standing up for democracy in a military dictatorship when no one else in the world will help, does that not qualify for Person of the Year?  Maybe we should stick to the United States.  Nancy Pelosi, first female Speaker of the House?  Well then again, maybe not as she and her Democratic partners did not do as much they had originally planned- that could have been because they lacked a significant majority in the House and Senate to override a Bush veto and they did not have enough seats in the Senate to end a Senate filibuster- but that is story for another blog.

As we have seen, Time's choices for Person of the Year have gone down hill recently.  Think 2006- "You".  Hmm, yes, You are the Person of the Year.  That is the best way to say that we have no freaking idea and are completely indecisive about who should be named Person of the Year.  

And now, 2007's Putin.  Of course, let's name Russia's new dictator Person of the Year, why didn't I think of that first?  Maybe because to me, Person of the Year is a distinction, or at least it has become one, that shows that a person has affected the world in a positive way.  Well, Time sees things differently, "Time's Person of the Year is not and never has been an honor.  It is not an endorsement.  It is not a popularity contest.  At its best, it is a clear-eyed recognition of the world as it is and of the most powerful individuals and forces shaping the world- for better of for worse".  This is the inherent problem with Time's recognition of Putin as Person of the Year.  How can a magazine as upstanding as Time have the guts to declare that Putin, who is hugely becoming a dictator in his own country, can be considered a Person of the Year.  Putin is a dictator, no ifs ands or buts about that.  But I guess, because the Person of the Year does not need to be good, as long as he or she is shaping the world for better or worse, it's ok.  

I guess what only disappoints me further than this is, why if under these circumstances, Osama bin Laden was not declared Person of the Year in 2001?  Now that is a question that the Time editors may have a hard question answering.  But then again, I guess Rudy Giuliani was a good pick for 2001.  Or maybe Time should have picked President Bush, the people of New York City, or better yet the People of the United States.  Come on Time, Putin is a very influential man, but seriously, find some better People of the Year.  Work less at getting your own name in the news with a controversial pick, and work towards picking people how have had an amazing positive influence on the world and who can be good role models for all generations.

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