January 1, 2006

Another New Year. I guess we all share a universal sense of optimism when a new year rolls around. Even those jaded cynics among us who (perhaps like me) who have begun so many New Years with a list of resolutions and the hope of peace and prosperity, and then witnessed the disolution of those hopes in the fire hose of reality.

2005 was another one of those years when the idea of World Peace seems like a childish aspiration. Threats - real and imagined - abound. China and Russia are drifting back to totalitarianism. None of our old friends likes us anymore. Perhaps Randy Newman (Let's drop the big one and see what happens) should be the next president. We need someone with a sense of humor.

We don't even like each other! The Dems are calling the Republicans liars and corrupt. The Neocons seem to have patented a new definition for patriotism which sounds to me too much like nationalism. I recall that the Nazi's came to power by focusing the people's attention on the internal and external threats and then ruthlesly punished eliminated any form of dissent or opposition. As a country, we have polarized to the extremes. There is no middle. The bell curve is now a statistical pucker when it comes to politics. Each side says "Either you are with us (and shut-up). or you are helping the enemy." Good old-fashioned comromise is out of the question. How can you find common ground with traiters, Nazis and killers of babies? Amazingly, after centuries of barbaric warfare (much of it over differences in religious beliefs), we have learned nothing. Some of us have distilled (or should I say, "dumbed-down") our political philosophy down to a few defining issues such as right to life, opposition to same sex marriage and insistence upon unquestioned allegience to a leader. Unfortunately it will take another national tragedy for the sides to come together.

But, despite the gloomy assessment for the prospects of peace, I look ahead to 2006 with a sense of renewal and optimism, just like the rest of you naive children.

Footnote: Was it just me, or did you think it was kind of a bummer seeing post-stroke Dick Clark at the annual New Years Eve festivities on TV. Is this what the rest of us have to look forward to? Can't someone tell him that it is time to get out of the spotlight? It gets worse - They announced today that Clark's successor has been named to host New Years Eve when Clark finally kicks the bucket. Was it some one with talent? Good looks? Charisma? No, some poofta from the american Idol show. Reality Central to ABC: there is a reason why none of my homies bothers to watch that phony baloney "competition."

I guess Clark just did not want to give up his Job. Like so many of us, we work our whole lives to accomplish something worthwhile and then the company replaces us with Ryan Seacrest.