Back in Those Days...

As the last few days of this June come to a close, it occurs to me that we are 1 and 1/2 years from the end of this decade. Part of the interest around this first decade of the New Millennium (TM) is just what to call it. It's pointedly difficult to get single numbers to roll off the tongue like Forties, Fifties and Sixties. There are numerous suggestions for names of this decade, but I believe the most accurate (and historically relevant) name would be the "ought-nots," as in "ought not to have happened."

It's easy to guess from past entries that I am what some would call, pessimistic. I actually disagree with this conjecture, and prefer to identify myself as an optimistic cynic. The simple truth is, bad things have happened, are happening, and are likely to continue to happen, but I maintain that things can get better. I would further argue that plainly acknowledging the negative truths as they exist, rather than trying to sugarcoat or euphemize them away, is simply being realistic. But I'm getting away from the point.

I will not argue that this decade has seen significant advances for the human race. The Internet has had an incredible explosion of progress, with greater information access, user-generated content, and more ubiquitous computer/electronic device use overall. The environmental awareness or "Green" movement has gained social and political popularity again, with numerous industries striving to help with diminishing pollution and carbon-impact in their products and creating efficient alternative-energy technologies (though generally in response to several problems discussed below). Further developments in science and medicine continue to enable possibilities for greater standards of living worldwide. And a few stellar achievements have been made by humanity outside of our little blue-green bubble.

However, in a staggering ironic turn, the UN General Assembly declared the decade of 2000–2009 the "International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World," which seems more a statement of unfulfilled wishes rather than a declaration of achieved goals.

First of all, let's consider the minor conflicts of this "culture of peace": the resurgence of Palestinian-Israeli conflicts, insurgencies in several Mid-East countries and South/Southeast Asia, genocidal civil wars in Africa (including Darfur, Somalia and Chad), the renewed violence of the Mexican Drug War, and the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars (to name just those most-covered in the worldwide media).

Then, throw in the numerous natural disasters: record-breaking heat waves in 2003 and 2006; several categorically large earthquakes, including the Indian Ocean (2004) whose tsunamis killed more than any ever recorded and place it sixth on the Top Ten Deadliest Disasters, Kashmir (2005), Java (2006), and Sichuan Province (2008); Hurricanes Jeanne and Katrina (2004, 2005); unprecedented droughts in Africa, China and Australia; flooding in the Far-East, Mid-East, Africa, U.K. and U.S. Midwest; and seasonal wildfires which continue unabated to destroy millions of dollars of property. For fun we could also include that little blip of the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak.

A large part of the problem with the above disasters was the ensuing man-made disasters of relief efforts, where politics, mismanagement, corruption, and simple lack of preparation or resources further compounded the problems brought about by nature, resulting in even more deaths.

And of course I can't forget to leave out that infamous day, that looked upon event as the day which defined the ensuing century. The September 11th attacks. Puzzled over and dismantled numerous times and with various findings, eventually resulting in a publicly released Congressional report. But let's not forget the attacks in London, Madrid and Mumbai, as well as countless smaller attacks in urban civilian areas over the years.

A great deal of these led many people to the conclusion that "nowhere is safe;" that the conflicts of other regions could affect anyone, anywhere, regardless of personal identity, age, politics or religion. A great deal of fear resulted from this, naturally. And following that fear, anger. And following that, aggression. But the new "enemies of peace" are divided, hidden and unpredictable. There are few, if any, large standing armies to fight. So in a cloud of confusing danger, you fight who you can, where you can.

The Global War on Terrorism has been dubbed a "Long War," and it seems it will most likely replace the Cold War as the pervasive, but elusively experienced constant fear that will encompass our global consciousness. We'll get up hearing more rumblings or reports of disastrous events, trudge through the day with whatever distractions or personal stressors arise, then go to bed with further reports (or probably just block them out with escapist media).

Where does all this leave us? I don't know. I don't know what will be said of all this by a 50-year-old historian in 20 years. But I know how it all feels right now, to my generation. It sucks. It is a weight and a pressure that is always at the back of the mind. There is misery and conflict in the world, and there is very little light to be seen towards the end of any tunnel. If anything, the tunnel of our future seems to just dig deeper and deeper underground.

The only opinion that seems to be heard after a beleaguered sigh of discontent, is that the only thing to be done is to press on, and try and dig UP at every opportunity. The inertia of so much progress and hope behind us seems to keep us walking ever onward, even if we don't know towards what. Many would decry a political agenda that would emulate this outlook (as it seems to be today), but in a world of constant change, what choice do we have?

There isn't a choice of isolationism in a global economy. There isn't an option of leaving politics and big difficult choices to certain groups when those groups reveal continual scandal and corruption. And there isn't a choice of resigned apathy and ignorance when survival and health is determined by motivation and reliable information.

Back in this day, people had been given a gift of prosperity and hope, and then suddenly it began to be taken away from them in bits and pieces. And people had to decide if they would merely be repulsed and outraged at this, or if they would actively work to ensure further prosperity and hope against continued trials (possibly forever).

And back in this day, the future was still unknown, still always before us, and you're inability to rely on things made you change constantly. And only looking back from tomorrow were you certain if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I put a dollar in a change machine. Nothing changed. " -George Carlin, 1937-2008

Dedicated to a wise and no-bullshit man. We'll miss ya, George.