Tuesday is not only the end of the year, but the end of a decade, ten years of evolution and revolution. Whether for better or worse, the choice is yours.
We started the 2010s with an international financial crisis, but survived it; smart phones and Twitter came to dominate social media, highlighted by President Donald Trump’s daily messages and frequent invective; the United States maintained its leading position as global superpower, but China moved to extend its influence, particularly in Africa; Russia was accused of stirring the pot of ill-will.
Women strengthened their position in most societies, helped by the #MeToo movement, same-sex marriage was legalised in a number of countries and there was isolated pressure for an end to capital punishment.
Britain’s decade came to be dominated by a referendum decision to leave the European Union; in Europe itself there was a surge to right-wing nationalism; America was divided by President Trump’s sometimes bizarre behaviour, his characterisation of any criticism as “fake news,” and finally his impeachment.
What emerged as a major threat during the decade was climate change, in particular global warming which saw the Arctic ice cap melting, temperatures hitting record levels and starting fearsome forest and bush fires in the Amazon and Australia, rising sea levels and pollution of the world’s oceans by plastic non-biodegradable mostly from the developed nations. Frighteningly, we seem to be moving backwards on this issue. At a conference in Paris four years ago, the world’s leaders, headed by US President Barrack Obama, committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions which threatened the planet. The impetus now seems to have drained away and results of UN-sponsored talks in Madrid earlier this month were inconclusive — hardly surprising since Trump pulled America out of the Paris accord and is on record as describing climate change as a “hoax.” Trump’s policies, as one writer described them, have been America first and Mother Nature second. Do the oceans’ waves have to be lapping around the White House steps before serious action is taken?
Racism in British football, once thought to have declined, seems to be on the up again. The latest incident took place when Tottenham Hotspur hosted Chelsea and the visitors’ black centre-back, Antonio Rudiger, reported monkey noises from the crowd.
Play was stopped and warnings were broadcast to the crowd three times that “racism is interfering with the game.” The police said they were working with Tottenham to identify the culprits and the government said it would not rule out “further steps” if football authorities failed to deal with the issue.
Mr Iffy Onuora, equalities coach for the Professional Footballers’ Association, told the BBC that racism had increased in the UK since the decision to quit Europe.
A six-year-old French boy who was thrown off the 10th floor of a London building has started to speak again. His family wrote on their fund-raising page, “Our little knight begins to speak.” He was pronouncing syllables, though they were hard to understand. He was also moving his arms and legs despite pain caused by sensation returning to his body.
“It is very difficult to watch, but he is very courageous and we stay strong for him,” they said. The family were visiting the Tate Modern museum in London last August when an English teenager picked up the boy and dropped him five floors, causing a deep bleed on the brain and leg and arm fractures.
A fund-raising internet page has raised £143,500 for the boy and his family. Jonty Bravery, aged 18, from Ealing London, admitted attempted murder. He said he wanted to be on TV to highlight his autism treatment. He will be sentenced in February.
In England and Wales, any communication carrying slurs about a person’s race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc is punishable by a fine or prison. Now moves are afoot to include words which denigrate people for being clever. Psychotherapist Dr Sonja Flack says words such as nerd, geek, egg-head, brain-box and smarty-pants, often dismissed as banter, were in fact divisive and humiliating. She described them as “hate crime’s last taboo.”
After drinking too much at a New Year’s Eve party, Tom decided wisely to leave his vehicle in the pub car park and walk home. As he was tottering along, a policeman came into view and asked, “Where do you think you’re going?” Replied Tom, “To a lecture.” “Oh yeah?” said the cop sarcastically, “and who is going to deliver a lecture at four o’clock in the morning.” Replied Tom dolefully: “My wife.”
As midnight approached, the organiser of a New Year’s eve party asked all the men, on the stroke of twelve, to stand next to the person who had meant most to them over the past year. The bartender was nearly killed in the rush.
