2009: Reflections at Years End
2009 is Dead
By Craig Portwood
The gunfire has ceased and the smoke of sky rockets, firecrackers and sundry pyrotechnics have drifted into memory. Now that the year 2010 revelry is over, one wonders if the celebration was not more for the fact that 2009 has finally ended.
The past year has been a hard one. One year ago, small, local American banks began to fail, followed by larger ones. Initially, there was great interest as the national news media reported the events diligently. The failures continue but they now pass with barely any notice. America has returned to her slumber. And while more banks are purchased out of insolvency by taxpayers, the stream of income by which the debts must be paid has slowed to a trickle. None paying the bill will enjoy any benefit aside from the knowledge that future generations will likewise shoulder the burden, without have any say in where the money goes. None of it will pass through their hands. If they cannot perceive that their country has been sold to the highest bidder, it is only because they were not invited to the sale.
America inaugurated a new president whose main virtue seemed to be that he was not John McCain, nor Republican. Still the political machine continues to perform for the crowd. As in the past, the people will take sides, rooting for one of two opposing teams in a rigged game. Tempers will flare, passions will ignite. While the media directs our attention to the political magicians hand waiving in the air, few will notice that his other hand is in their pocket. The masses will again turn to their TV and will return to the illusion that their political views and actions matter. As they sit passively being programmed, none consider the fact that their perception is but fantasy, an electronic hallucination meant to keep them docile. Meanwhile, the conspiracy continues unnoticed.
The new president continues to pursue an expensive, hopeless war, while enjoying a Nobel Peace Prize. It can’t but help make the killing of Americans and foreigners alike more palatable to him. This might also help him assuage any sense of guilt for the dismantling of American freedoms in the name of the war on terror. That America is less secure for having begun that war is imperceptible to most Americans. Few consider the fact that the illegal torture and detention of people in the “War on Terror” only encourages “our enemies” to mistreat American citizens.
While America is being strangled economically, she placates herself with elixirs, herbs and potions, many sold openly, some not. This coming Sunday, millions of Christians will likewise drown their sorrows in the comfort of their blessed hope. They will be reassured that they are secure in the belief that they will all be evacuated from the world in case of trouble. None will be troubled by the fact that their Bibles offer no such promise. Their pastors assure them that their happy interpretations of the scripture have God’s approval and that’s good enough for them. After all, their religious leaders are learned experts, just as their political leaders are.
The party is now over and a new year has begun. Can the good times be far behind?