Don’t look back in anger

As we drop the curtain on another year, it’s time to go introspective.  Here’s my 10 questions raised by events of 2007.  Good luck to everyone in 2008.

1. Does it really matter who we elect president?  We’re still over 10 months away from elections, there’s been more debates than anyone can remember, there’s more candidates raising more money staying in the race longer to collect more federal matching funds than before.  There has been more reports & suspicions of viable candidates that aren’t mainstream being shut out by the media than ever before.  And one half of the most scandal-ridden White House couple ever is still a front-runner?  Never has it been more apparent that our presidency is simply for sale to the highest bidder.
2. Can you see that Andy Warhol was right?  Reality TV is only getting bigger.  In related news, my 15 minutes of fame is for sale to the highest bidder.
3. Do you think we care too much about sports?  What sport hasn’t been hit with a cheating scandal this year.  Curling?  Maybe if professional athletes weren’t paid so much while schoolteachers exist around the poverty level, they wouldn’t feel so much pressure to do anything to get ahead.
4. Are we really that stupid?  Do Americans really want to know that much about Brittney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton, etc.?  Really?  I was born in the wrong time.
5. Do I look old to you?  My mom once told me that the older I got, I would have more people I know die.  It made sense then, but I didn’t understand what it would mean to me.  Now I’m starting to understand.  My first high school classmate passed away recently.  A friend that I had lost touch with over the years.  First, I was stunned.  But upon reflection, I was amazed that we had all made it this far.  Matt, here’s to you bro.
6. Can’t we all just get along?  In a world that is supposed to progress in enlightenment & tolerance, we seem to revile people for their differences instead of appreciate them.  And it’s getting worse.  People keep getting killed over their sexual orientation, color of their skin, side of the street they live on, etc.  People have body parts ripped off because they root for the wrong team?  Come on people.
7. Where’s the pride gone?  At the same time, there’s things that we need to take a stand for.  America was built by immigrants.  But immigrants that worked for the privilege of citizenship.  Not those that snuck into the country & siphoned off resources from taxpayers.  There’s a fine line to be trod here that we should seek to be on.  But selling off large portions of the US to foreign interests & putting signs & documents in 2 languages so that people here illegally can get services is stepping way over that line.
8. Is the US really the biggest issue in the middle east & the Muslim world?  All the civilians killed in Iraq by other Iraqis.  Bhutto assassinated.  We may not be helping, but we ain’t the cause.
9. Can we see past our own noses?  We are the real ‘Me’ generation.  Parents who don’t care about their kids.  Politicians who don’t care about their constituants.  Businesses that don’t care about their customers.  The proliferation of bloggers.  How many things are driven by one core behavior?  Selfishness.  Everyone wants more for them.  More money, more power, more material goods, more fame.  As Rodney Dangerfield once said ‘Always look out for #1.  But be careful not to step in #2.’  We can take care of ourselves & still be good to our fellow men.
10. Can’t we see that we’re the disease & the cure?  It’s corny, but it’s true.  The answer to all my questions is people wanting to change.  Nothing gets better in nobody does anything about it.  And nobody will do anything if they don’t look beyond themselves & see what we’re doing to our world.  I’d really like to not have this question next year.