Well, that’s it. 2018 is going to be gone in a few hours. We’ll be starting a new year.
If you have been like me after I last wrote, you’ve been overwhelmed by the never ending Trump Lying Train. I was hoping that at some point, the people that voted for him would wake up to this disaster. But, no. I was too optimistic. More to the pont, I underestimated how effective repeating a lie is. Apparently, if you repeat something often enough, people will start to believe you. In fact, a magician wrote to explain why it is working.
His endless tirades against our poor reporting institutions has been appalling to watch. And yes, as twisted as it may seem, it is “lending” more credibility to his supposed cry of “fake news.” The few times where the public could gauge what has been going have started to fade away. This president has had the least number of press briefings since Nixon. Instead, he yells at us using his Twitter handle. He uses Twitter like a drunken fool and it shows.
I understand that it can be a form of communication. However, tweets are limited to 140 characters. Unless you have an extreme command of the language and are very articulate, it can be hard to impress anyone with anything substantive on that platform. Regardless, you have to give it to him, he’s an expert at using this as his bully pulpit. Literally.
Beyond the Trump spectacle, 2018 brought us an acute awareness of climate change. We saw hurricanes devastating communities least able to recover. We saw typhoons washing out villages. We saw sweltering heat in locations not known for such phenomenon. And, lastly, we saw wildfires gone amok burning away whole towns. There was a lot of displacement going on.
Speaking of displacement, what about the ongoing global immigration crisis? While the rhtetoric around the Mexican-U.S. border grew heated, we saw a migrant caravan of thousands of people trying to cross into the United States. Unfortunately, two children have died under the custody of the Customs Border Patrol. This doesn’t make me feel good to be an American.
Europe is having its moment with immgration, as well. It’s been a bigger concern for the European Union since 2015. Of course, it is only getting even more exacerbated each year with all of the tumoil in the Middle East. Let’s not think about what is going on with Syria.
#MeToo gained a lot of traction this year with the demise of Harvey Weinstein. Unfortunately, it lost some steam with the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings earlier this year. At least, we got a chance to hear Dr. Ford’s testimony even though it was under a less than ideal setting. We still have a good way to go before women are considered equal to men in all aspects.
Truly, 2018 seems like a negative year. But, I can’t let it slide by without something positive. Let’s acknowledge the full breadth of movies that touched us all, among them Black Panther and RGB. Wakanda forever and Notorious RGB rules!
Lastly, I saw many acts of kindness that people executed throughout the year. There is still good in the world. That gives me comfort. I was the benefactor of an act of kindness, by the way. I received the ultimate mug of defiance—Thanos’ gloved hand.
It is not Thanos’ glove. It is the Pimp Hand of Justice. We need someone to be pimp slapped—you know who that is. Tell me where and when.
Oh yes, I shall slap 2019 into submission with my Pimp Hand of Justice. Be wary, ne’er-do-wells!