(I actually had written most of this at the end of 2017 and never got around to posting it; however, some of what I wrote then is still relevant today – sadly..)
And, what a year that was … !!!
As we begin 2019, the world continues to be in turmoil – reeling from political blunders to natural disasters – although how much mankind has contributed to these latter events is definitely a moot point. While I do not profess to understand in detail what global warming / climate change is all about, there can surely be no doubt that humans’ actions nowadays are certainly exacerbating – and accelerating certain weather conditions, thus affecting the earth’s eco-system adversely.
There is so much anger around that it’s frightening. Still, if like a lanced boil, all the ‘stuff’ that is erupting and coming to the surface can be dealt with and cleansed, hopefully healing can take place and mankind can start to move forward to a more peaceful existence. (Having said this, I’m not holding my breath…)
One example from last year; the ♯metoo movement. Ironic that this should happen during the tenure of quite possibly the most chauvinistic, misogynistic president to have ever occupied the White House. Sure, there’ve been other very badly-behaved presidents when it comes to sex (think Bill Clinton for starters). However, while their behaviour was pretty appalling, they – outwardly – at least weren’t quite so openly denigrating about / towards women.
However, I’m somewhat inclined to agree with Brigitte Bardot. It is one thing to have a genuine grievance against a bully who used / uses his status to demand sexual favours from an aspirant (in whatever field). It is quite another to cry ‘wolf’ when the aspirant might indeed have used her sexuality to advance her career and now sees a chance to get back at bad treatment she may have subsequently experienced.
Those who are guilty should indeed be called out and punished. However, with so many women now coming out of the woodwork, how to distinguish between the real victims and those who might conceivably be seeking revenge for being slighted at one time could be a bit of a minefield.
Indeed, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Just a thought..
What is it about power that so goes to people’s heads that they think they are invincible?? Don’t they realise that what goes up must come down?? It is rumoured that when the early Caesars were celebrating their Triumphs, a slave stood behind them, murmuring ‘ Remember, Caesar, thou art but mortal’ or words to this effect… (however, I haven’t been able to track down an actual source for this phrase; could merely be an urban legend)..
And now, as we begin 2019, the USA faces a continuing partial government shut-down – including freezing a federal pay increase (actually, not a totally bad thing; many government employees actually earn far more than many of their counterparts in the private sector – some of whom contribute to their company’s bottom line). All the while, the petulant child rants and raves on Twitter about the Democrats’ refusal to ‘negotiate’ (in Trump parlance, this actually means cave in) – even though he had earlier intimidated that he would be taking responsibility for a shut-down. As usual, his short-term memory forgets this rather important consideration.
He is so fixated by his bloody wall that he is prepared to cause a lot of grief to a lot of people – no matter what the cost. (And for all those people who think that he is keeping a campaign promise; what happened to ‘Mexico is going to pay for the wall’??) !! What a prick..
Interestingly, haven’t heard too much more about the right-wing loony who has purportedly raised over $10 billion (maybe more) from private donors (idiots) to go towards funding the wall. Even though this person is a US Vet (a three-time amputee), he is still a right-wing nutter.
Dark forces do indeed abound; let’s hope that 2019 – being a Universal 3 year – will see a change for the better and that the forces of light prevail.
Oh Brave New World.
If only…