In Keeping With the News: 2000-2010

I am not going to recount the last ten years' headlines or world events; I do not have the time, the patience, and frankly I am not a good enough writer to even come close to keeping you entertained long enough to make it past Y2K. I am, instead, going to summarize what I think the theme of the decade was (is for another few weeks). The term is "zeitgeist."

Essentially it is the all encompassing defining trait of a period of time; there was the era wherein a ton of old monarchies fell and colonies became independent, this was the "revolutionary era." Or some such.

I think this decade has been the "exclusive era" or maybe the "polarized era." Personally, I favor the less polished "Us Versus Them Era." Competition, difference of opinion, patriotism and nationalism are not new concepts, but in the last 10 years we have experienced a ...division... into black and white, you and me, us and them along every line of every topic. Are you pro life or pro choice? red state or blue? Intelligent Design or Darwinist? Are you pro Walmart or for small businesses?

The middle ground eroded away into two camps. It did not matter the topic, or the importance; compromise was reviled and rejected. All-in, on everything. You could change sides, but god forbid you soften your leftist stance and say, "Maybe George Bush has some good points" or "I think Iraq needed to happen." You were now; despite voting democrat, or driving a Prius, or attending pro-choice rallies every alternate Thursday nights, a red blooded tried and true tyranny-loving Republican. Your family owned slaves and burned gasoline for fun, all while worshiping Jesus Christ and the holy trinity of guns, free trade, and racism.

Conversely if you argued the opposite; you became a traitor or a pussy or any number of unclever and hurtful names. Either G.W. was going to kill everyone and destroy America, or the terrorists were.

I am not excluding myself from this; I have veered from a pro-agrarian Liberal Anarchist (original definition of "Liberal" not the present one); essentially a "burn it all down and start from scratch" type. Governments were evil and the dependence on law and money was crushing the inherent goodness of mankind. I would now have problems defining my political views, or even whether or not I believe mankind to be essentially good, evil, or neither.

It is still going strong, this distaste for shades-of-gray thinking. The last election was a good example, health care a better one, and global warming another. This kind of thinking is what drove me to create this blog.

And it is global; Russia vs. Ukraine, Europe vs. Iran, Christianity vs. Islam, UN vs. North Korea. On and on, someone vs someone else. Inside a country, a town, or even a family... we are losing common ground.

Which really just means we are losing the only real game in town; the one for progress.