"Eclipse Day" Protest

I may very well be the only person on the planet that has not read the Twilight series, or seen any of the movies. Therefore, it should come as no surprise to anyone that I have a hard time understanding the hype around the series, especially the movies, which I have heard are not that good. Today is the premiere of the latest Twilight fiasco, Eclipse, and true to form, "Twihards" are tweeting in the masses about the premiere and how great it is. One woman even referred to today as "Eclipse Day." Dear God, I hope not.

I support everyone's right to love something - shoot, I am super excited about the new Harry Potter movie - but to dub a day for the premiere of a vampire film? I think there are more important considerations that need to be acknowledged. Therefore, this post is going to be a little different in the sense that it will have nothing to do with law school. Instead, I am dedicating this post to finding 5 things more important than Twilight: Eclipse, which quite frankly was not that hard. It took all of 10 minutes.

1. Unemployment - This one holds a special place in my heart as someone very close to me is unemployed. In the worst job market most of us have ever faced, things are more dire than ever when it comes to employment. The linked article describes the newest development in the plight of unemployed - the expiration of unemployment benefits. While I am fortuante enough to continue my education and avoid the job market for just a little longer, this article highlights the challenges of those still seeking work, and is clearly more important than glittering vampires.

2. Hurricane Alex - The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is already hailed as the "worst environmental disaster our nation has faced." For weeks we have been following the news as story after story breaks regarding the status of the spill, and how soon it is going to be over. Concerns over the effects a hurricane would have on the spill were thrown around, but now it seems that we will find out for real. While the hurricane is heading towards the Mexico and Texas coasts, the linked article talks about the complications Alex is causing for the spill clean up efforts. It is safe to say that this disaster is far from over, and more of a concern.

3. Missing Oregon Boy - A story that I have been following with great concern is the disappearance of Kyron Horman, a 7 year-old Oregon boy. He was last seen walking down the hallway to his second grade classroom - he never made it to class. While I have no personal connection to this boy, there is something about this story that just tugs at my heartstrings. I could not imagine taking my child to school and watching them walk away, just to never see them again. The saddest part is that there are so many children that go missing without a trace, some of which are never found. Maybe some of the attention should go from Eclipse to remembering and praying for children like Kyron and their families.

4. Murder - If you have not been following the Joran van der Sloot case, then you are missing out on one of the most talked about men of the moment. He was the lead suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba 5 years ago, and has now been arrested and charged with the murder of a 21 year-old girl in Peru.

I don't want to turn this into a political rant as to whether or not I think he is guilty, but I definitely see a pattern emerging from him where he confesses to something, takes it back, and then tries to get the sympathy vote by saying he was coerced and his rights were violated. The point is that this is just one example of the deaths that happen on a daily basis, with one person extinguishing the life of another. Again, our time might be better spent praying for the victims and their families rather than wondering how the birth scene is going to look.

5. Brazil Floods - Last, but certainly not least, attention should be given to the various natural disasters that plague different parts of the world. Whether we can blame the media attention, or if there really are aninflux of disasters occurring recently, I don't know, but what I do know is that there a thousands of people affected by the floods in Brazil as I type this post. The linked story gives some staggering numbers as to the amount of people displaced from their homes, and the hundreds of people that are still missing.

It is by no means an extensive list, but it was pretty easy to come up with a list of things that deserve more attention than the Eclipse premiere is receiving. Am I advocating that no one have fun with anything again? Absolutely not. But, come on people. There is much more going on today that should prevent June 30, 2010 from becoming known as "Eclipse Day."