Think back five and a half years ago to New Years's Eve 1999 when most of the world was on edge, wondering if our computers and assorted gadgets would cause a technological global meltdown resulting in massive transit and electricity failures, lack of access to our treasured bank accounts, contemplating northern peoples who hadn't bought generators left shivering in the bitter cold of winter, wondering if we'd all stored enough food and survival gear for the Armageddon that was assuredly on its way, living with anticipation, fear and excitement all rolled up into one almost indescribable new emotion that can only be experienced when the dawn of a new millennium is upon a population.
When the clock struck 12:01 am on that fateful eve, we all experienced a massive sigh of global relief that a) we were all still alive b) the world's modernity hadn't doomed us into a step back into the dark ages and c) we could all move forward into a new century that showed such promise on so many fronts.
Well, look at where we are now.
War is almost everywhere: Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Lebanon, the Congo, Sudan and on and on. The promise of a peaceful world some of us thought might become reality in this century has already seen setbacks that some of us could not have imagined. Iran is a possible nuclear threat. North Korea is firing missiles whenever it feels like it. India and Pakistan are adding to their arsenals. Genocide continues in Sudan. The African continent is still in dire straits on so many fronts. Russia has become defiant once again. China is threatening to become the world's new superpower.
What happened?
In three words: George Walker Bush.
For a man who had never even been outside of the United States before he became president in 2001, he now faces a foreign policy disaster of extreme proportions. Add to the mix the rantings of Venezuala's Hugo Chavez, the upcoming changing of the guard in Cuba, warnings from Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister to the US over its support of Israel, which could affect oil supplies, further isolation from old and 'new' Europe and you'll find a man in charge of the world's most powerful country who is in way over his head.
Not only that, his neocon advisers, who had written about their fantasies of world domination in their Project for a New American Century manifesto, grossly miscalculated how their plans would actually play out in the real world and have now expressed serious doubt about their surrogate Bush who has not acted according to their wishes at every turn.
What are we left with? A world out of control. More specifically - a US administration that is completely incompetent in effectively dealing with the ramifications of a foreign policy that it created and then refused to control because it simply was unable to realistically gauge the results of such insanity and powermongering.
It almost makes you wish there had been a little power outage on January 1, 2000. At least we could have dealt with that. Maybe it would have changed the course of history too. We'll never know.
What we do know though, is that we are now at the mercy of an American government that is so caught up in justifying its own existence that it will do practically anything to maintain its grip on power, that it has foregone the very constitution that was supposed to be its guiding light. And, from the moment that document was first breached by this administration, it set into motion a disastrous series of events that have brought the world to where it is today - a place where one is left mystified as to what will even begin to affect the sorely needed change of direction necessary to handle the current state of massive chaos that's ensued as a result.
Many brilliant minds have many brilliant theories but none of them hold the power of George W Bush. And he and his Republican-controlled, rubber stamp congress, which has allowed him to break laws for years on end, will determine what happens next. And, at this point, that thought is certainly far from being reassuring.
There isn't any partying 'like it's 1999' anymore.
Welcome to the New Bleak American Century.
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