Samantha’s absence from SATC reboot mimics exactly what is wrong with our country
In a somewhat recent announcement, Sex and the City fans happily heard that the series was gearing up for a later-in-life reboot. This news garnered great delight and praise; however, that excitement flattened when SATC devotees learned that the Samantha Jones character, the genuine “sex” in Sex and the City who helped form the SATC legacy, would not be returning for this particular run.
It has been rumored that Sarah Jessica Parker, who spearheads the series with the role of Carrie Bradshaw, and Kim Cattrall (the actress who portrays Samantha) have difficulty getting along. And while I appreciate that situation might make working together problematic, I find it hard to swallow that a personal disagreement has diminished a highly valued television series from one of brilliance into a show now lacking integrity, continuity, and quite frankly, magic all because two people cannot set aside their personal differences (while pretending to individuals other than themselves) for a few months of filming. I also cannot help but see the similarities within these circumstances with that of our current government and general leadership.
You can be a forceful individual and maintain your standards, morals, ideology, and boundaries and still work with people who are strong-willed, stubborn, or even purposefully argumentative. You can even maintain your own personal happiness while working together with those opposed to you, especially on time-limited projects. Yes, this requires diplomacy. Yes, this demands patience. It calls for empathy and compassion. It necessitates letting go of past slights and stopping new personal attacks from unfolding. Yes, this requires strength of character, and yes, when committed to greatness and the greater good, this presence of mind dictates relinquishing your hold on being right and instead focusing on being an adult.
Our downfall in leadership comes from our demise as individuals. As a nation, we have become weak, mostly because the parts of our sum are no longer willing to take responsibility for their own emotions, internal struggles, and behavior, let alone for disagreements that are bound to make their way into human interaction. Our leaders were once fixated on striving for the best, dedicated to overcoming the adversity of life, and they were committed to camaraderie. We set out to collectively create a land of opportunity based on the fundamental ideals of prosperity, freedom of thought, and courage. Now we live in a land where no one can disagree with another without enduring tremendous hardship. We lack the courage to engage with those who see differently and instead futilely fight. We have forgotten the art of politics and turned it into a circus. There is no honor in refusing to work with those who see in opposition to your own feelings. The honor lies in working through difficulties to create magic for the greater good of all those concerned. That is the true virtuosity of the human spirit.
It would be wonderful if these two powerful, intelligent, and creative women could don their stilettos in solidarity within their private little world to show the public realm how real strength is forged. It is time to stop fighting about the past and let go of that useless, negative energy in an action-based effort to create the future we want and truly need. It is time to evolve.
