The past week has seen the death of at least three prominent people in the United States. Of course there were many more deaths than this, and I suppose "prominent" is relative. Anyone who loses a loved one believes (and rightly so) that the loved one was prominent. But here I am talking about those persons that are either famous in their own right, infamous in their own right, or made prominent by the circumstances of their death (unfortunately instead of their life).
One person who passed away this past week was a very renowned pianist, probably one of the best of this century, maybe one of the best of all time. Harvey Lavan Cliburn, Jr., or Van Cliburn, as the world knows him, played his music for presidents and kings, even for Soviet leaders...and the Soviet people as well. Van Cliburn developed a love for the Russian people, and they loved his music. He was loved in America as well. He was a recognized and accomplished pianist by the age of twenty-three, still a young man when Liberace was in his prime. Van Cliburn was not as flamboyant as Liberace, but certainly Liberace's equal in talent. With Van Cliburn's passing, two nations that for the past sixty years have only eyed each other with suspicion, had to pause briefly in their mutual distrust as both nations mourned their great loss. Van Cliburn will be missed, but of course his music lives on, and will only gain in appreciation with the passage of time. Many "powerful" and "prominent" people attended Van Cliburn's funeral, with the keynote speaker being George W. Bush.
Another person who passed away last week was of the "infamous" variety, at least from my perspective, and that of many freedom lovers around the world, Hugo Chavez, the apparent President-For-Life of Venezuela and avowed adversary of the United States. President Chavez, as is usual, came in to power heralding himself as the friend of the people, etc., but proceeded with a socialist agenda that curbed capitalism in Venezuela. After reducing the freedom of the people, of commerce, and of politics in his own country, Mr. Chavez also did his best to foment revolutions in Columbia and Ecuador, causing strife in both of those nations. He aligned himself with Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and of course the Castro Brothers in Cuba. This "friend of the people" had by the turn of this century become the de facto dictator of Venezuela, and probably would have continued as such for another half-century, if he had not succumbed to cancer. This dictator, who curtailed much freedom and caused much strife, was hailed by one US Congressman as a "liberator" and a "shining light" in South America. Our own President, who did not acknowledge Van Cliburn's passing, sent a delegation of praise-dripping politicos to President Chavez's funeral.
Oh yes, there was one more person who passed away last week, who is very worthy of mention, and whose passing, like Van Cliburn's, went unnoticed by the President of the United States. That man was Navy Seal Christopher Kyle, known as the Navy's Deadliest Sniper. Chris Kyle was killed by a fellow veteran, a young man whom Mr. Kyle had befriended and was trying to help in adjusting to civilian life once again. This man shot Kyle and another man, Chad Littlefield, while the young man was in some sort of mental distress. Mr. Kyle, an honored member of our armed forces, had placed his life on the line many times over the years, fighting for the rights of the people, the same rights that President Chavez sought to curtail, for which our President felt deserved a US delegation. Again, President Obama did nothing for and said nothing about Mr. Kyle, did not honor him in any way. It is obvious where our President's values and priorities lie, and that is not with our own service men and women, or even our own famous and talented musicians. No, Mr. Obama's sentiments and loyalties are with the dictators and political strong-men of the world. I suppose this is no big wonder, given President Obama's disdain and continual disregard for the Constitution. I wonder if President Obama will, in the coming years, be held in the same regard as the strongmen of Central and South America, Africa, and Asia - a position he seems so desperately to desire.
