On Wednesday, Time Magazine named Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, the person of the year. This is an extraordinary achievement for her. She has been a prominent figure in world politics and had to beat out some very prominent people to win this title. Some of the people she beat were "Black Lives Matter" activists, Caitlyn Jenner, Donald Trump, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and, wait for it, the ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Yes, the man who is currently leading a devastating, radical religious campaign through Syria and Iraq, was among the choices for person of the year. Heck, he was actually the runner-up in the voting. This leaves one question: how?
Well, many people believe that he did something incredible by uniting a group of fragmented people. People were rallied by his agenda. He has used cyberspace to recruit and maintain an army. He has directed attacks that have spread fear into the hearts of many. Simply put, he has been an effective leader for his people. Oh, and did I forget to mention that he kills innocent people, supports genocide, has no problem with sex or drug trafficking, and, in general, is a really horrible person?
So, I must ask, how did this man end up the runner-up for Time’s Person of the Year? What was going through these people’s minds when they decided this would be a good idea? I find it a bit sickening that something like this has occurred after multiple, deadly terrorist attacks. Who actually believes he is a good guy besides the people who support his sick and twisted cause? I would hope that nobody thinks he is a good guy. He isn’t deserving of any awards.
The issue here is that there are some questionable people on the list of candidates. Some have been accused of various crimes while others have been viewed as generally bad people. However, I don’t see any of these people acting in the manner Baghdadi does. In a time where everything is televised and blasted across the Internet in a matter of minutes, it shocks me that nobody has been upset by this. We are upset over so many other little things but not the leader of a terrorist organization being voted the runner-up for person of the year.
With that being said, I am curious as to how Time Magazine came up with this list of people. Do they randomly pick names that are used throughout the year or did someone say “Hey, let's put a terrorist leader in for person of the year.” It really makes me question what is going on at such a large media company. What are they thinking?
In all honesty, I’m not necessarily angry about the situation. People do have the right to say, think, and feel how they do. I fully support the first amendment but what concerns me is what made someone think this way. Is this something we should be concerned about or should we just let it blow over? Maybe it is time to question everything the media puts out or, maybe, Time Magazine just didn’t think this one through. Either way, I still find it strange.
