Year In Review – 2013: The “Party-On”
Year
God had not seen fit to end it all. Earth wasn’t destroyed. We ended 2012 thankful to be alive.
Our collective sigh of relief pretty much describes the year 2013. It’s as if, since God didn’t end it all on 12/12/12, it must a message to party-on instead.
I don't know why, but for some reason I started wondering what if 12/12/12 wasn't the end date, but the beginning of the end-period, instead. What if we've entered some type of “test period,” where problems of mega-proportions
are to be sent our way to see what we'll do? What if after the "test period" God then decides whether to send us a
Savior or bring on the apocalypse instead?
I believe, My Fellow Americans, that our 2013 test scores do not reflect our best efforts. We've got to be able to do better than this.
While many of our fellow global citizens have had to withstand unprecedented trauma:
Chemical warfare on Syrian citizens;
And the fiercest typhoon in recorded history attacked the Philippines, leaving more than
6,000 fellow global citizens dead;
What does the internet show we’re interested in?
In Google's top people searched list, Kim K. only hit the #3 spot. Poor Kim, she was squeezed between Miley Cyrus (#1) and Justin Bieber (#4). That's certainly not a position I'd ever want to find myself stuck in.
And, you probably guessed -- the top question we Googled in 2013 was "What is twerking?"
I must admit, even I Googled that one!
The old Pope quitting didn't top any search lists I could find. The new Pope seems to be doing much better in the popularity polls, but his 2014 search results are still to be determined . . .
I thought, maybe we’re just weary of world affairs,
so I turned my research for this post to the mid-section of our
country. 
- On November 17, 2013, there was a "Tornado Outbreak" with its epicenter 140 miles outside of Chicago, Illinois, with 73 confirmed tornadoes and 136 reported ones.
- There was record flooding in Colorado literally washing away roads, bridges and entire towns.
Knowing that the emotions of my fellow Americans are often captured in our music, especially our Country Music, I searched, What was the Country Music Awards 2013 Song of the Year?
- Was it a ballad reminiscent of Farm Aid days?
- Maybe a Bruce Springsteen like “Born in the USA” song to stoke the national pride.
- Nope, the Country Music Awards 2013 Song of the Year is “I Drive My Truck” by Lee Brice.
I guess it was too much to wish for another reflective, call-to-pursue-a-greater-purpose song, like Alan Jackson's "Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)?" performed live at the 2001 Country Music Awards.
Even more so than our twerking fascination, perhaps all our efforts spent on self-absorption would have God
the most depressed about America.
Even Geraldo Rivera had to get in on the Nude Selfie craze . . .
Thank God, Fox Network made him take it down from Twitter.
I heard he tried to defend himself saying he was just trying to keep up with the Kardashians!
But maybe there’s hope for mankind, yet.
After all, 2013 was the year when Lance Armstrong finally admitted to doping. Even though it feels anti-climatic, sort of like it would if O.J. Simpson ever admitted the glove did fit, at least he's no longer lying, right?
So, for my part, rather than give up something, I'm going to do something. I’m going to start blogging again.
As with before, one of topic I'll frequently be shining a spotlight on is national and international money matters. It's what I do best. Plus, there's a lot to address in the upcoming year:
·
Even
with 2013’s record fines in the billions of dollars for the mortgage security
frauds that caused the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, mortgage security
sales, are on the rise again almost as if the frauds never occurred.
·
And, an even bigger “winner takes all” financial game has taken on
global proportions—currency manipulation. Trust that things like 2003’s LIBOR
scandal and London Whale debacle aren’t isolated to the U.K.
·
Don't even get me started on Bitcoin!
So that's my 2014 overture. What's yours? What are you going to do to ensure our collective 2014 "Test Scores" are better than 2013's?
Could we at least agree to curb our national semi-nude selfie
obsession? - Don’t take them, don’t post them, don’t view them and certainly don’t share them.
- Geraldo Rivera already went there. Do we
really want more senior citizens following suit?
Let’s resolve to make our world (physical and digital) a more awesome place to live in 2014.
Who knows, maybe God’ll give us an even longer lease on this physical paradise we are blessed to inhabit—this wonderful planet called Earth.
