2016, Train Wreck?
This year is playing with us. After I wrote about people who brought back childhood memories dying, Carrie Fisher died. And just this early morning, her mother, Debbie Reynolds. Most people just can't wait for this year to be over. The deaths of famous icons, wars, refugees, terrorist attacks, earthquakes, mass murders, botched referendums, and nightmare elections all seem just too much to take in one single year. This is the worst year ever.
But, is it? It certainly seems so because it has concentrated so much public bad news. However, as an opinion article in The New York Times has suggested, perhaps not. To me, other years have been watershed years. 1991 and 2005 are two such years in my personal life. I'm sure that this year is the best in their lives for those who have undertaken very successful endeavors in these past twelve months. Perhaps we should categorize when we mention "best" and "worst".
Those of us who lived through other years might think this is not so bad. For example, 1939. It was a year of world tension. Everyone was worried what the madman in Germany might do. To avert bad things, the world community let him have part of the territory of another sovereign country, Czechoslovakia, just the year before. It didn't matter. In September, Hitler invaded Poland. Later in the month, Soviet Russia invaded from the east. I'm sure that to many living in Poland at the time, 1939 was possibly the worst year, ever. History was repeating itself, and Poland was being re-partitioned.
And what about 1945? For Americans and the Allies in general, it was a very good year. The war was over. But at what price? For the Japanese, especially those living in the areas of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was the beginning of hell. Many died during the following months and years after being exposed to the first atomic bombs, apart from losing loved ones and having their previously untouched cities bombed into immediate oblivion.
If we go further back in time, what about 1929? It was the beginning of poverty for many, whether or not they had investments that went "pouf" in the Great Crash. 1914 wasn't so hot, either, though it was a hot August moment in the Balkans when all the problems of the next four years began. 1917 in Russia was not a good year if you happened to belong to the incipient Russian middle class, which was already being decimated by the war. Further back in time, 1860 in the American South was not the best time to be a plantation owner or an army draftee. How about 1789 in France? Too many aristocrats and landed gentry rued the year. London in 1666. Between the plague, and the fire, it was an annus horribilis for many.
So, we complain about this year, and it is true that some things that have happened in it will cloud the future, such as the Brexit referendum and Trump's election. But there have been worse, and there will be worse. There will also be better. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that next year will be one of the better ones. That would probably involve an impeachment and an act of God, but one can hope, right?
But, is it? It certainly seems so because it has concentrated so much public bad news. However, as an opinion article in The New York Times has suggested, perhaps not. To me, other years have been watershed years. 1991 and 2005 are two such years in my personal life. I'm sure that this year is the best in their lives for those who have undertaken very successful endeavors in these past twelve months. Perhaps we should categorize when we mention "best" and "worst".
Those of us who lived through other years might think this is not so bad. For example, 1939. It was a year of world tension. Everyone was worried what the madman in Germany might do. To avert bad things, the world community let him have part of the territory of another sovereign country, Czechoslovakia, just the year before. It didn't matter. In September, Hitler invaded Poland. Later in the month, Soviet Russia invaded from the east. I'm sure that to many living in Poland at the time, 1939 was possibly the worst year, ever. History was repeating itself, and Poland was being re-partitioned.
And what about 1945? For Americans and the Allies in general, it was a very good year. The war was over. But at what price? For the Japanese, especially those living in the areas of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was the beginning of hell. Many died during the following months and years after being exposed to the first atomic bombs, apart from losing loved ones and having their previously untouched cities bombed into immediate oblivion.
If we go further back in time, what about 1929? It was the beginning of poverty for many, whether or not they had investments that went "pouf" in the Great Crash. 1914 wasn't so hot, either, though it was a hot August moment in the Balkans when all the problems of the next four years began. 1917 in Russia was not a good year if you happened to belong to the incipient Russian middle class, which was already being decimated by the war. Further back in time, 1860 in the American South was not the best time to be a plantation owner or an army draftee. How about 1789 in France? Too many aristocrats and landed gentry rued the year. London in 1666. Between the plague, and the fire, it was an annus horribilis for many.
So, we complain about this year, and it is true that some things that have happened in it will cloud the future, such as the Brexit referendum and Trump's election. But there have been worse, and there will be worse. There will also be better. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that next year will be one of the better ones. That would probably involve an impeachment and an act of God, but one can hope, right?
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