What a difference a decade makes!

Well, folks, we're nearing the end of yet another year, as well as another decade. And what a decade this has been! Ten years ago this week, many people were all wigged out about this thing called Y2K, and a subset of religious fundamentalists were even predicting the end of the world. (For the record, I knew all along that that was a bunch of right-wing b.s. propaganda.) A year into the decade, we seemed headed for real doom in the form of the election of Dubya, 9/11, terrorism, and war. (Aside: President Obama's handling of the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing is, imho, a major improvement over his predecessor's handling of 9/11 and the Bin Laden briefings Dubya was receiving the entire summer of '01 while he was playing cowboy at the ranch in Crawford, Texas.) And, speaking of President Obama (love being able to use that phrase!), his victory seemed virtually unlikely to many in 2000. Of course, the growth of the Internet is largely responsible for this turn of events. In addition to revolutionizing American elections, the Web has made unlikely (and often undeserving!) superstars out of a lot of folks. Take, for instance, the music industry. At the beginning of the decade, it was dominated by cookie-cutter (read: blonde, vapid) pop princesses like Britney Spears. Now, thanks to the Internet and reality TV (don't even get me started!), a Susan Boyle can become an overnight sensation. It's funny, but I actually remember the days when you had to work for fame and celebrity. The times-- they are a'changin'! LOL! Last but certainly not least, I've undergone a lot of personal changes during the past ten years. For example, on Jan. 1, 2000, I was a community college student living at home and somewhat unsure of my future. Today, on the other hand, I'm a community college instructor, grad student, writer, activist, up-and-coming leftist blogger, freelance journalist, and soon-to-be world traveler. My, my, how things have come full circle! Okay, that's a very brief dissertation on the past decade. I want to wish everyone peace, love, and happiness in 2010 and beyond. Here's to another eventful and history-changing decade. Who knows what we'll be discussing here on Dec. 30, 2019!