I know that one of the things they teach you at J-School (right after how to scam free nachos and before "the internet is evil" lessons) is that you're supposed to publish your "End of the Year" wrapup piece before the next year. January 1-3 should be reserved for dieting tips, health club reviews, and the latest on Britney and LiLo. But, just like Spinal Tap, who had to release its Christmas album in June because it couldn't get studio time until spring, I decided not to let my busy football-watching and party-planning schedule keep me from sharing my otherwise valuable thoughts on the year that was. That plus working on this may be the only way I can stay awake while watching the Sugar Bowl.
Needless to say, in many respects, 2008 has been a down year. Recessions, financial system meltdown, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, drought, the Olympics, Barack Obama, Britney Spears still being a celebrity...sometimes it just seems like the bad news never ends. Our country's media is suffering from plummeting ratings and revenues, and therefore has resorted to "sky is falling" stories at every turn to cling to life by its cracking fingernails. But like Steve Martin in My Blue Heaven, where some people see problems, I see possibilities. Tonight I'd like to review some of last year's silver linings.
Lets begin with the hurricanes. Gustav, and especially Ike, wreaked havoc throughout the south. Ike hit Houston and Galveston especially hard, leaving people without water for days, and power for weeks. Yet, this did not turn into Katrina II. People's basic needs were addressed, civil order was never threatened, people were cooperative and understanding for the most part and worked together in the most difficult circumstances, and power, water and phones were restored pretty quickly considering the degree of damage. Government seems to have learned some lessons from Katrina, and the storms showed that lots of people are still decent, caring, and reasonable toward their fellow man.
Politics and the banking collapse were big stories too. Even though the bank bailout eventually was viewed as necessary, the whole fiasco, and the related proposed auto bailout showed that most Americans still have some basic distrust of and opposition to government subsidies of inefficient businesses. Most people still seem to have a basic idea that if you run your business poorly, you shouldn't hit up the taxpayers for a handout. On the political front, even though I think Obama is Tommy (an empty vessel to whom people ascribe their own beliefs) and millions are likely to be disappointed when the rhetoric turns into specifics, no one could fail to notice that for the first time in a generation, a huge mass of people mobilized to support a candidate because they believed in the candidate, not just because he's not "the other guy." Even young people managed to stop playing Wii and delivering pizzas long enough to vote, or volunteer to work on the Obama campaign. Good things happened on other political fronts. New Orleans took care of its William Jefferson problem, the legal system caught up with Ted Stevens, Rod Blagojevich, Rick Renzi, the Governor of Puerto Rico, and other corrupt politicians. On the other hand, Texas courts protected all our liberties by telling the government it cannot trump up child abuse charges against people it regards as odd or weird, and seize an entire community's children without any real proof or any real danger. And, finally, this was the year that the Clintons were finally put down like rabid dogs, kicking, screaming, sputtering, accusing, and dragging down everyone around them just like you knew it would play out if they were ever to lose. Not a model of "losing with grace."
Oil prices proved that, once again, market mechanisms work better at relieving high prices than government intervention. A massive government program was not necessary to bring gas prices from over $4/gallon down to the $1.50 level. Instead, consumers decided to buy less gas. Amazing how that works. In 2008, we relearned Adam Smith was right after all.
On the world front, the "surge" continued to work in Iraq, and peace (or at least a reduction in violence) continued breaking out throughout the country. Americans who stuck with the President on the surge should be proud they did not succumb to those urging that we concede defeat and abandon the new Iraq either to civil war or Syrian or Iranian domination. The Brits and other nations appear to continue willing to combat the Taliban in Afghanistan, and some modicum of Western nations still seems willing to oppose Iranian imperialism. One silver lining of the oil price collapse is that it has slowed Russian expansion, and virtually brought that Venezuelan windbag Chavez to his knees. Our "athletes" (beach volleyball and synchronized swimming? really?) won the overall medal count at Beijing, despite being outspent by the Chinese government by record levels.
The media collapse continued. Fewer and fewer people relied on the news cartel (ABC, NBC, CBS, New York Times, Washington Post, TimeWarner, CNN) for their news, and more relied on internet and other decentralized sources not dependent on corporate goodwill for their continued existence.
In New Orleans, the city continued to rebuild and people continued to return. The population is now at roughly 75% of its pre-Katrina population. Shops, restaurants, hotels, and other businesses continue to open (or reopen). Jazz Festival held its first Thursday shows since the storm, and even the Neville Brothers returned to Jazz Fest. Better still, the recession apparently has not hit New Orleans and other parts of Southeast Louisiana.
In sports, the idiocy of the Bowl Championship Series has been further exposed with its treatment of Texas, and for that matter, USC too. Roger Clemens, apparently thinking he could get away with anything, saw that he could not fool all the people all the time. Brett Favre and Steve Smith were exposed as the divas they are. The Texans played strong and have an actual NFL-caliber offense for the first time since ever, and the Jonesboys managed to snare defeat from the jaws of victory yet again. Texas had an unexpectedly great year, and although LSU underachieved, at least it had the courage and character to kick that punk Ryan Perilloux off the team even though they knew it would hurt the team's chances at defending its national championship. Finally, another year of the Yankees outspending every other team, another year of not winning at all (in fact, this year they didn't even make the playoffs, while their perennial nemesis the Tampa "Rays" won the AL Pennant-how did that taste Hank Steinbrenner?).
Perhaps the cherry on the cake of 2008 is this is the year the Juice finally stopped running. We all owe a collective debt of gratitude to the good people of Clark County, Nevada for putting away Heisman Trophy winner and double murderer OJ Simpson. I guess there won't be any more running through airports for awhile.
All in all, even in the midst of a down year, I saw lots of things that allowed me to keep my faith in America and Americans. Although our country continues to change, in many ways our essential character as a nation and a civilization does not change. We can all thank God for that.
Next-more bad things 'bout the BCS
P.S. LSU throttles Georgia Tech, while Satan loses his bowl game to the Mountain West conference. Gotta love it!
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