As we enter December, we will soon be bombarded with a myriad of lists and awards from a multitude of sources announcing their choices for the best–and worst–achievements of the year.
From the ten best and worst movies to People’s Sexiest Man Alive (congratulations Johnny Depp), no news column, publication, or Internet blog seems to be complete without a nod to something or someone as among the year’s best or worst. Most are taken with barely a grain of salt. But there is one that is perhaps the most venerable and highly anticipated: Time Magazine’s Person of the Year
On Dec. 14, Time will announce its 82nd annual Person of the Year who, according to the magazine, is the “man, woman, group, idea, place or machine that for better or for worse has done the most to influence the events of the year.” Often, the choice is someone who clearly dominated the year’s news, such as last year’s selection, Barack Obama. Other times, the choice is more symbolic, as in 2007 when Time affixed a mirror on its cover to announce “You” as Person of Year, an acknowledgement of the growing power of individuals, through blogging and YouTube posting, to play a role in influencing events.
With that in mind, here are my selections for 2009’s Person of the Year:
Second runner-up: Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger. On Jan. 15, after having logged nearly 20,000 hours as a highly competent but anonymous airline pilot, Sullenberger safely guided all 155 passengers and crew aboard a US Airways flight to an emergency landing on New York’s icy Hudson River. Both of the plane’s engines had shut down after sucking in a flock of birds. Since that time, he has been subject to nearly non-stop acclamation. My selection of Sully is not only a testament to his heroic actions, but also a symbolic nod to those who constantly rise to the occasion, who demonstrate grace and competence under pressure, but do so without appearing on the cover of newspapers and magazines.
Sully represents those in our society, from the American soldier protecting our country in far-away lands to inner-city school teachers who dedicate their lives to educating the less-fortunate, who toil without banner headline recognition but whose work is no less heroic or important.
First runner-up: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran. Remember the criteria that Time uses in making its selection: “the person…that for better or for worse has done the most to influence the events of the year.”
Iran’s development of nuclear technology as well as its violent crackdown against its citizens who peacefully protested Ahmadinejad’s sham re-election have placed this America-hating and Holocaust- denying scoundrel at the forefront of recent world events. If nothing else, Ahmadinejad reminds us that in a world where it is often challenging to distinguish good from evil, there are those who make that choice readily apparent.
Person of the Year: Neda-Agha Soltan. On the evening of June 20, Neda was driving her car on Kargar Avenue in the city of Tehran on her way to attend a peaceful protest against the results of the recently concluded Iranian presidential election. The car’s air conditioner was not working, so she got out and proceeded to walk to the area where the demonstration was taking place.
Suddenly, she was shot in the chest and collapsed, bleeding profusely. She died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Hers was the first of many deaths of those who dared to challenge the clearly fraudulent re-election of the nation’s president and the violent suppression of their peaceful protests.
Soltan is my person of the year because her death symbolizes the right to peacefully protest and seek a redress of grievances from government, the desire for free and fair elections, and the universal quest for human dignity.
The video of her shooting, which has been viewed millions of times on YouTube, has become a unifying symbol not only for those who continue to protest the stolen Iranian election, but also for those everywhere that seek to hold their government accountable for its misdeeds.
Her death is a reminder to all of us that the cost of maintaining personal freedom and human dignity in the face of government tyranny is often not cheap, and that we need to pay homage to those, like Soltan, who have given their lives to safeguard and secure these God-given rights.
Nathan Mitzner is a junior risk management insurance major. He can be reached for comment at
