By Allen Hamrick
The year 2021 is now the past, and a brand new year is off to a young start. To say that 2021 was just another year would be like saying a hundred dollar bill is just another dollar. I guess it kind of is now with the amount of inflation that 2021 left us to start this year with. The price of building materials rose to unprecedented heights as did many other items, including gas and oil. We started 2021 with the idea that this pandemic was heading into the sunset, but it returned with a vengeance and brought other variants with it. Still, we rebelled and 2021 became a war between the people fueled by the fear of being taken over and the people believing in science. We are Americans after all; we have rights. So, on that note, we labeled ourselves vaxxers and anti-vaxxers, and the war of words split friendships, families, people and the government, and, at times, it got heated enough to release blows. The pandemic has seemed to take over our minds as we struggle to figure out the truth, and after all, there is only one truth about it, not just depictions of what each individual’s truth is. Isn’t that right?
The start of 2022 would be a good time to figure it out before this country collapses; we have to do what’s right for our future and those that depend on adults for guidance. We have never been a country that has fell to pressure from other countries, from unknown viruses or anything that tries to take us to our breaking points. People have immigrated to this country for a reason. No matter the differences we have, we have always stood together and fought against what tries to take away our freedom to do so. In 2021 we saw that ideal wane as differences turned to bloodshed in places. We saw a governmental change in January 2021, and our country went into a panic believing that we no longer would be that bad to the bone country we love to live in, but here we are. There have been troubles, for sure, but again here we are in 2022. Yes, gas is costlier, and inflation has taken buying a loaf of bread or a jug of milk to a search for the best deals. The price of building materials reached an all time high as companies seemed to raise the price simply because they could; plenty of timber was falling, but prices soared. Some people still raised houses no matter the cost, but for most, that new back deck would have to be put on the back burner.
However, amid all that, there was a surge in the job market. Companies were advertising everywhere; a person could suddenly get a job no matter your age. Grandma and Grandpa could get back out on the job market flipping burgers just like they did when they were kids. It was great – all the business could keep their doors open again thanks to a generation that could now come out of retirement and help their country once again. Even now in 2022, if a person wants to work, they can with little to no sitting around at the table scanning the want ads. One can just drive down the road and see business in need of workers. In 2021, it all changed. With over a 100 million people in this country, it seemed the amount of jobs outweighed the amount of people wanting jobs; if you wanted to work, you could.
As 2021 rolled on, the people rolled with it, and our government stayed at odds with each other. It’s like a cattle drive that has a continuous steer branding, with each one wanting to burn the other’s butt. We all know what happens to things given a nudge downhill – it affects all of us, rich or poor. Still, we rolled on believing that at any moment all would be well, no matter what, and that it would all blow over. A lot of people just went on with life as if nothing was going on, paychecks still arrived on time, there was bread and butter on the table and a piece of chicken in the fridge. So, why not bury your head in the sand and move on? Because eventually those parts you left behind will get bit. In other parts of the country in 2021, city wars raged, there were shortages at the markets, and people from all over were burying their loved ones who seemed perfectly healthy at the time. Indeed tough times abounded in 2021. The battle between political forces nearly upended this country if not for people who once again started thinking for themselves, a ridiculous idea in a world where the mass population has to be told right and wrong. Just take a look at communities around this country, neighbors against neighbors politically turned against each other without the slightest idea how to reason problems out.
However, we still rolled on as everyday life became a guessing game as to what was going to hit us next, shutdowns, more wide spread shortage or so we are told, no school, new variants of some disease, war, famine, high taxes, even higher gas prices, killer weather, despair at Lowes, I mean who knew. Would that hundred dollar bill that’s been saved in some secret place in a sweaty part of your wallet, still be worth a hundred dollars when you want to spend it? Not likely. What about our kids? Will they even have a future if we continue down this road in 2022? An elder Native American chief said it best, “No tree has branches so foolish as to fight amongst themselves.” Maybe that’s the problem after all. Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce said, “It does not take many words to speak the truth.”
High tech innovations have evolved to the point that some believe that movies like Transformers will no longer be just a movie but reality. Things are becoming so advanced that a computer so smart as to think on its own will soon be if it’s not here already. What will it think of the human population as it is, when the only thing that that makes it live and breathe is the truth about any given situation and it will react accordingly? Where will we be when they take over? Is this to be our reality? Maybe, who knows what the powers that be have in store? After all, some did pay $129 for a $29 sheet of plywood. Why, because, we had to have it. In 2021, companies that had the monopoly on food, water, and building materials became super rich at the hands of the few that remained working. What will happen to this country if where we left off in 2021 continues in 2022?
In 2022, we have to make a difference before we no longer have the opportunity to do so. The process of life we all know and understand has been going on since the beginning of time with change being a constant; but if we turn and fight the monsters, we must be careful not to become who we are fighting. If we stare long enough into a black hole, that same black hole stares into us. We need to make 2022 a better place to live, not just for ourselves but also for our families and our country. Our landscape is changing, and it is changing at a pace that many will not be able to keep up. People need to become self sufficient again, find a love for the great outdoors and away from the panic. Whether we like it or not, change is inevitable and most likely will take over our lives. It can either consume us or make us better. So, where do we begin as a people in 2022? How do we go forward from 2021 into the uncertain future that we will face as a generation? Those questions, among many questions, have to be answered by individuals as well as by families. There is no way that the common person will change anything political or the rotation of the world. The only things we can change are ourselves and try to inspire the people around us in whatever circumstance we are faced with.
In 2021, we saw a lot of terrible things and a lot of good as well. We saw common folk answering the call for help and those that stood on the front lines of tough situations with no thought of themselves. How we approach the new year does not depend on the news, politics or resolutions; it depends on us. It’s not how I see it or the way you see it, but what’s right and what’s wrong for all people. We have children that are depending on the decisions we as parents make so that they, too, can have a home, job, children of their own, a savings account, a car and so on. It’s high time the government stops the fat cat, power hungry politics and considers the people, for a change, and where they will be when it all comes to an end. I assure you it will come to an end. Like my grandma used to say, “We came into this ol’ world naked as a jaybird, and we will go out either wearing a coat of many colors or just plain bib overalls.” What she was saying was that the only thing that matters is what good we did while we were here, not what we had. Albert Pike said, “What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”
Don’t dwell on 2021 so much that the days coming are wrought with fear and depression. The year 2021 ended with a washout or a cleansing – you be the judge. Today isn’t yesterday, and change is inevitable, good or bad. However, the work we do and our thought must change with the times – either evolve or be lost in the shuffle. The one thing we must remember is that there is always hope, and if we know the truth, the best thing we can do is use it. Let’s make 2022 a better year than last year, if not for the country, for ourselves and our families so that generations to come will enjoy life just as much. Happy New Year!
headline for the front page lead in pic- Will 2022 be the year hope becomes reality?
cutline for the front page lead in pic- There is always hope because there are good people.
cutline for the pic 1- Over the horizon and into a new year…
