Archive: Opinions

Have you heard the old joke that goes, "What do you get when you play a country song backward?  You get your wife back, you get your dog back, you get your truck back..."  I've been thinking about that a lot because 2016 has been a lot like a country song that I would love to play backward.  I have told friends that I can't wait for New Year so 2016 will be over, and I do feel that way in my heart, even though I know in my head that an arbitrary date does not really change what happens to you or people you love.  I have also noticed, however, that a lot of people I know are saying the same thing.  It's not just me, is it?

Was 2016 just plain miserable?  Is it true?  Wednesday Reuters published an article by Peter Apps implying that it was.  He cited the Russian ambassador to Turkey's murder and the Berlin truck attack that killed 12 people, then said, "2016 looks set to keep throwing out unexpected, often brutal surprises right to its end. If 1989 – the year the Berlin wall fell – was the point at which globalization, liberal democracy and the Western view of modernity was seen to triumph, the year now concluding might yet be seen as when the wheels came off."

Apps went on to say that 2016 demonstrated that nothing is unthinkable any more.  So we have not only had a spate of bad things happening, but the bar for what is acceptable has been considerably lowered.

Oh, that's cheerful.

Time Magazine also published an article Wednesday claiming 2016 'hurt bad'.  That article tried to take an upbeat approach, citing Dr. Martin Luther King's attitude on coping in times of great social change.  The basic idea is that an adversity can be a challenge, depending on how you look at it.  I guess that's OK, if you are not so beaten down that an opportunity seems like just one more thing.  There have certainly been a loit of things this year, so I am not really sure I could handle it with that mindset.

In the 'misery loves company' department, 2016 stank for everybody, not just Americans.  The Guardian ran an editorial claiming 2016 was terrible for Australians.  They conducted a survey asking Australians their feelings about the last 12 months.  Economy - bad.  Australian politics -- very bad. Large corporations - could be worse.  Small business - bad.  Trade unions - bad.  The average Australian -- it was a really bad year.  Personal financial situation - bad. Workplace - somewhat good.  You and your family - again, somewhat good.  The planet - horrendous.  Yup, a bad year, and to add insult to injury Australia suffered it upside down!

Two weeks ago Newsweek also declared 2016 a terrible year.  But it said this year isn't unique.  To prove it they provided a timeline of very bad years going all the way back to 65,000,000 BC, when a six-mile wide asteroid slammed into the Yucatan Peninsula, causing about 75% of all life on earth to perish.

Well, that gives me hope.

Despite claims that a massive killer asteroid, discovered by Chinese Astronomer Zhao Haibin, is hurtling toward Earth, NASA has been working on a plan to redirect any asteroid that wants to pay an unwelcome visit.  In October NASA launched a robotic mission to test technology that will remove some of the asteroid's mass as well as steer it into orbit around the moon.  So basically, robots are going to save the world.  How is that not cheerful news?  And it happened in 2016.  It doesn't get me my dog back, but it's something.

That Reuters journalist concluded, 'This has been a complicated year. Don’t count on 2017 being any easier.'  Forget that!  I am counting on 2017 being better.  It has to be.  Good riddance 2016! 2017 is going to be a good one!

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