Looking Forward

Another decade has ended and a new one has begun. I remember the 80’s and 90’s, but I don’t even know what they called the recent one. All I know is that for many people, this past decade was filled with more tragedy than good events.

In the beginning of the decade we had the worst terrorist attack on U.S. land in history. 9/11 changed our lives forever and caused us to think about things differently. It also led to two wars and Americans feeling that they were never completely safe ever again. This past Christmas Day there was another attempted attack on an airline headed to Detroit. What does this say about airport security and the possibility of another attack similar to 9/11? Scares the crap out of me that’s for sure.
The 2004 deadly tsunami in the Indian Ocean and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 were also catastrophic events this past decade.

In January of 2001 we had a new president. Unfortunately, President George W. Bush was the main cause of the big problems of the decade, which resulted in the worst recession since the Great Depression. While the 90’s saw low unemployment and a big surplus, the next decade was the exact opposite with too many Americans losing their homes and jobs. I am also convinced that we would have gone to Iraq even if 9/11 did not occur. A war in Iraq was Bush’s game plan all along as soon as he took the oath of office. The only good thing to come out of his presidency was the capture and execution of Saddam Hussein. If Bush would have thought about the American people for once, the decade might have turned out completely different.
George W. Bush leaving office was one of the highlights for me in the decade. President Barack Obama, the first African-American president in history, was another highlight and emotional moment when he took the oath of office a year ago. People believed he was the change we needed to get back to what we had in the 90’s. I believed in him too although he was not my first choice as president. It is still too soon to tell if he will indeed succeed. People who want change to happen quickly need to remember that President Obama was brought into the White House with a deep, deep hole in our economy. So deep that I knew that it would not take just a year to fix.

One of the tragedies that profoundly affected me was the death of Michael Jackson, whom I adored since I was little. Let’s face it; there were way too many deaths in 2009 alone where we lost several icons. But the death of Michael was huge. You can compare it to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the death of Elvis where you ask, “Where were you when you heard the news?” It was a death where the world stood still and mourned this pop legend. Part of me will never get over his passing. If there is one positive thing that came out of that terrible day, June 25th, is I am a better person. Now I just want to continue Michael’s good work and give to the charities that he supported and try in other ways to make the world a better place. This is what Michael would have wanted. I do understand why good people go too soon though. God wants them up there with Him.

I am looking forward and moving on to 2010 now. I hope our economy improves and things become better for people. It is tough to see so many struggling. I also wish my friends and family much health, love and happiness. I wish the same for myself. I hope that people respect my decisions and choices in this New Year. It got to the point last year where I thought about cutting certain people out of my life because I did not feel they were emotionally supportive or did not respect me. But it is a new year and a new decade. May God bless you. L.O.V.E.