It is that time of year again, where folks take a look back at the year that was and a look forward to the year that is yet to come. It is a time for making lists, taking stock, making predictions that almost certainly will not be proven true.
This year, the process is amplified, since folks are treating 2009 as the end of the first decade of the 21’st century. ( To be technically correct, the decade, does not end until the end of NEXT year-just as the 21’st century did not begin until 2001-but hey who am I to quibble over those details?).
One conclusion is becoming inescapable-the 00’s genuinely sucked. Only a moron like William Kristol thinks they were any good overall-and we all know how right his track record has been over the past decade. Zero point Zero. All courses failing.
Now I agree that the decade sucked for the world-but I’d be lying if I said that the decade sucked for me. With the sole exception of part of 2009, the period of 2000-2010 was perhaps the best decade of my life. As the year 2000 dawned and I watched the television broadcasts from all 24 time zones of the arrival of the New Year-I was in the process of pulling the ejection handle from that miserable institution known as marriage and venturing forth into what was then a very uncertain and precipitous future. I was optimistic-but also genuinely worried. Within six months though-while still fighting my way out of a financial bottom- I was having the time of my life, traveling literally all over Asia, meeting and “greeting “ more women in that time frame than I had in the previous years combined. It’s not right to complain about that. That kind of thing should be celebrated-loudly. ( You listening to me Tiger? )
Then again-I’m something of an optimist. Even the 90’s which were supposedly great for the world, were less than perfect for me. But they were not really bad either. I subscribe to theory that if you are healthy and alive-no time frame is truly bad. Certainly that has been true in my life. I sincerely hope it continues in the next decade and as the 2020’s dawn, I’m here and healthy to see it.
I also hope that I am on the other side of the Pacific to greet it-both next year and then. However if I am not-I’ll figure out a way to manage. Or at least console myself while I cry in my beer about it.
Which is what I wish my fellow countrymen-especially those of the species teabaggus whinus would learn to do. The are a lot of problems that need to be dealt with in the country, and for sure, one side only does not have all of the answers. However for a group that is supposedly so strong in their feeling for America, they certainly have an amazingly little bit of confidence in their fellow Americans. One reason I hold the tea baggers in such contempt is their level of hysteria-the country, after all, has been through a lot worse.
Even if Obama is 100% wrong on every issue(and I assure you he is not)-we are not in the same position we were 100 or 200 years ago. A little blessing counting seems to be in order.
On the other side of the coin, it would be good if those trying to push through reform understood that there is no free lunch-and in particular over time, government favors cannot be dispensed without some means to resource it. And that overseas-Ronald Reagan was not necessarily wrong-there are bears in the woods. A little bit more understanding of that fact, coupled with a lot less more social agenda would go a long way towards diminishing some of the harshest criticisms.
Unfortunately, for me, the thing about writing about politics is when you know one group of people is right about something, but they are just powerless to do anything. That is what has been adding to my angst the last couple of weeks regarding the health care debate and the kill the bill folks. On a lot of things, I think they are absolutely right- the public option would be better, I think the mandates will be politically dangerous , there should be more subsidies, single payer would be better, there shouldn’t be abortion restrictions, and so on. On so many of these things, I agree with the Huffington post crowd. The problem is, I don’t see any way of getting that done, and one of the things I like about Obama is he understands the art of the possible and takes what he can get.
But he’s got some “splaining to do”, just like Lucy did. It would be better if the folks in teabag land would stop assuming that just because someone does not agree with them-it does not mean they don’t care about the country. But that’s a reach at this point-and I fear next year will be even worse on the enmity scale.
Not to worry though-I will opine about it. And since I just got a series of e-mails telling me that I can get a bigger specimen of manhood-and I just won the Euro lottery-it sounds like things may just be going my way.
Open the Champagne and let the new year begin!