And so This is Christmas

I think I've done this one before...

I seem to do it every year, with the same title and everything (Hey, I like it.) This year, though, I want you to read it with a little more bite in your voice and end it like a question, like "And so, this is Christmas?"

As we close out a weird year of a weirder decade, I can't help but think that way. Think of it this way, we still don't know what to call this decade (that "aught" shit never flew). On a personal level, on a cultural level, or on a political level, this decade never had it. For eight years, we had a really dumb President, who has had our country in a really dumb war for far too long. Our country is suffering through a financial crisis the likes of which we haven't seen in a long time. Millions are out of work while buckets of money is spent on that ridiculous war. The Fall of the Roman Empire is happening right here right now in our own country and all people can talk about is how many chicks Tiger Woods fucked.

And so Happy Christmas, sang John Lennon. I wonder, if he were alive today, what would he be singing about?

I don't mean to poop on everyone's parade. I know people are trying. Every store I go into is packed with shoppers spending money that they probably don't have on gifts for loved ones. Despite what they are saying about the economy, I still see people trying. Office Holiday parties are still going strong. I went to several of them already. And yes, I got a pretty decent raise this year, in spite of my fears. I know I shouldn't complain too much, since a lot of people have no wage to get raised, but believe me, the raise wasn't that much.

So, I'm sorry to be like his, but how it is is how it is. I will celebrate Christmas with my family, as I do every year, and it will be fun and I will get some socks. And I hope everyone does. Come the 26th, though, it will be back to the old grind. The war will still be on. There will still be no jobs and no money. There will probably be some new news about Tiger Woods, so that'll be nice. I guess the one good thing is that this year, this decade, is over, and that we can look forward to a new one, hopefully a better one, with a clean slate.

Maybe Christmas can be the start of something better. Maybe it can be a good one, without any tears. Let's hope, anyway.