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PERSPECTIVES

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Happy New Year?

Date: 2023-Dec-31           Author: Barry Shatzman

I've noticed a lot of people essentially saying good riddance 2023... it was a shit year and 2024 can only be better.

Really?

Was it worse than 2013, when the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act?

Was it worse than 2020, when almost a half million Americans died of Covid because they didn't stock up on Hydrochlorofuck or Iverfucktin and our top health scientists had to smack their foreheads because... damn... they just never considered looking into how those folks could've been saved by injecting bleach into em?

Was it worse than last year, when American women lost legal autonomy to their own bodies?

Agreed it was a shit year for those who lost having a place to live because their income couldn't keep up with their rent.

And a shit year for those who knew someone killed by a very fine mass shooter who couldn't buy Sudafed without registering with the the government but still has no trouble buying an assault weapon made for no reason other than to rip people's bodies to shreds.

And a shit year for the many in Ukraine who knew someone killed by Russian missiles while watching Republicans block aid to help Ukraine continue its so-far successful fight to remain independent and help keep Russia from continuing its efforts to annex all of Europe.

And a shit year for the many in Israel who knew someone killed by Hamas terrorists. And a shit year for the citizens of Gaza who knew a child killed by Israeli forces or by lack of food and drinkable water.

Or ok... go ahead and name the great people we lost just to old age. But come on... name any other year that we didn't lose great people just to old age.

But yeah... something real is going on. People are angrier. Especially at those who don't agree with us. And if you refuse to at least try to hold legitimate reasoned discussions with the other side of the political spectrum, then i'm looking at you. Think i'm wrong? Then why did you instantly know what those sides are? And which side anyone is on?

Sure... 2023 was a horrible year for a few people i know for reasons personal to them. But if you don't acknowledge that at least a part of the overall recipe is a loss of humanity with a dash of learned helplessness sprinkled in... then i'm not sure why you'd expect the year that's about to pop out of the champagn bottle to be any better.

Especially considering that it's entirely in the realm of possibility that our country's colors could change from Red, White, and Blue to Orange.

So you want a better 2024? Then you better start taking some positive action this very minute unless you wanna be having this exact same conversation in 365 days.

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