The Steve Miller Band probably said it best with the lyric, “time keeps on slipping… Into the future”. As a child, time moved like molasses; as an adult, I can barely keep up. I can’t believe it has been three years! So much going on. Unfortunately, times could be better. Conflict in the Middle East is nothing new, but the escalating violence is worth paying attention to.

In Gaza, Hamas continues to fire rockets at Israel, knowing that Palestinian civilians are being decimated by Israeli return fire. Meanwhile, Syria and Iraq are responsible for the rise of ISIS in the region, and an ever growing Sunni/Shi’a conflict. To the north, Vladimir Putin is playing chicken with The West in Ukraine. Wreckage of Flight MH17 has Putin’s fingerprints all over them, but the blame for this tragic incident and the bloodshed in The Middle East is being attributed to a poorly executed American foreign policy.

Here at home, we need to rebuild America’s infrastructure, but our leaders are influenced by opinion polls more than a desire to serve the people. America touts Ellis Island, but is now closing the border to children fleeing for their lives. Aren’t these children refugees in need of asylum? Is America only open to specific people?

I don’t know what to think.

Especially when we have to digest nothing short of a lynching in Staten Island, where Eric Garner was choked to death by an overzealous undercover officer for selling loose cigarettes. While the EMS workers on the scene were suspended without pay, the officers involved were stripped of badge and gun but are still on desk duty collecting a check. It’s crazy out there! Three years later, there are some things to be hopeful about, but it is a double edged sword. I guess the real trick is staying positive in the face of so much negativity.