Did you see the Oscars last night?

How about that Alejandro G. Inarritu winning back to back Best Director Oscars. Mary Michael and I have very different beliefs on Birdman. It’s in my all time top 5 while it’s probably in her all time bottom 5.

What about Leo finally winning his Oscar? A momentous occasion for all of us who remember him as the kid the Seaver family took in on Growing Pains. You’ve come a long way Leo!

In most years, the above would be the big stories coming out of the Academy Awards. But not this year. This year, the real story is Chris Rock and his comedic take on not only the lack of African-American nominees, but race and racism in America.

One of the gifts about comedy is that it allows us to hear the truth about some things that we otherwise would not hear. It had the be one of the easiest monologues to write because it was by and large, the truth.

Truth is tricky because truth is subjective. My truth may not be your truth and vice-versa. This is partly because truth emerges from experience. Our experiences shape our truths. Chris Rock spoke his truth which is shaped by his experience and the experiences of countless others. We all would be well served to stop and consider his words rather than quickly dismiss them because we either disagree or they hit us a little too hard in our comfort zone  For my money, he sounded like one of the prophets of old crying out in the wilderness.

The award goes to Chris Rock. An award for his honesty, his perspective, and for making us think a little. Sometimes the words we need the most are the one we least want to hear.