It's 2010, Now What?

Hi everybody,

Yes, I know I missed the holidays. I hoped yours were merry and happy by the way. And I know that I missed our anniversary of one year on this blog, so happy anniversary. Anyway, it's a new year, and a new decade. So what's ahead for us?

First of all, what are we going to call this decade? What are we going to call last decade even? There was the "seventies" and "eighties" and "nineties." But what about the last one? The "O's" the "O-O's" the "two thousands?" Time will tell, I guess, which name sticks. Anyway, I'm going to call this new decade the "teens." Simply because most of the years in this decade will be "-teen" years.

And then there is the "twenty-" part. Last decade, it was "two thousand-," since you could have said "twenty-o-nine," but it would have sounded odd. So the "two thousand nine" pronounciation stuck for the decade. But at some point this decade, that will become impractical, since nobody is going to want to call a year, say "two thousand twenty four." So, this year could go either way. You could either call it "two thousand ten" or "twenty ten." At some point, though, the latter pronounciation will be phased in.

With that in mind, what are your resolutions for this year? I'll tell you some of mine. Mine are to get out more, to relate better to people, not that I don't now, but I can always do better. Next is to form more relationships. Finally, I will get on this blog more than once every two months. Write in some time and tell me some of yours if you'd like. I'll have another post up for you soon.

For the first time in the year 2010, this is the Daily Reeder, Over&out.

President Obama, or, A Landmark Day in History: January 20, 2009

Hi everyone,

Okay, I've been unable to access a computer at any time since last tuesday. This is because I've been on the road since then, and now I'm finally back home in Long Beach. So, in order to give my input on the historic festivities, I'm gonna have to get out of sequence, which feels unnatural. But since it worked for Star Wars, it might work for me. So, at last, I give you my report on the inauguration of Barack Obama on Tuesday, January 20, 2009.

I bring this up because I was there. Firsthand. Yes, I was looking at the thing on a jumbo screen a half a mile away on the mall, but I was present nevertheless. I got up at 5 in the morning on a friend of my dad's farm on the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, having gone to bed at midnight the night before, and drove down to the furthest-out metro stop in Maryland with my affiliate blogger. I marched out to the Mall with the record-breaking crowds. My brother and I were squished in the mass of people closer to the capital, and had to move back to get a better view (of the screen) with more breathing room.

I saw and heard all of the prayers, musical ensembles, and the poem, the fourth in history (the only other presidents to include poems at their inaugurations were John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton at both his inaugurations) to do so. I heard Chief Justice John Roberts and President Obama fumble the oath, saying "execute the office of president of the United States faithfully" instead of "faithfully execute the office", and then instead of saying "so help me God" as if expecting the president to naturally follow along, asked Obama, "So help you God?" (perhaps in light of the Atheist lawsuit), and Obama answered "So help me God".

Then came the much-anticipated inaugural address. The first thing he said was "I stand here humbled by the task ahead of us." Rare words to hear from a political figure. He then thanked Bush for his service to the country (Seriously? Well, I guess he had to). Anyway, then he began rebuking the things that have dragged us down over the years. A lot of the things he talked about seemed like just the right things to me.

The pronouncement that "The argument is not whether government is too big or too small, but whether government works". Ever since the days of Reagan, government has been filed down to prevent waste. However, movement in this direction has gone to the other extreme, leaving us with a government too weak and underfunded to do any good for anyone. I don't mean to blame solely the republicans for this. During his presidency, Bill Clinton proclaimed "The era of big government is over" and was far too willing to throw aside his and Hillary's health care reform agenda when it was politically convenient to do so.

The prevailing attitude for all these years has been "Government is bad. Destroy it." Government can indeed be greedy, wasteful and corrupt. I know this all too well. I've seen it happen. But I also believe that government can be a force for good in the world. I've seen this recently with the law that Obama passed just the next day establishing more rules of the road for lobbyists. I hope the notion that government can be good will become more of a reality in the Obama presidency, and for the first time, I am realistically confident of it happening.

Another thing was foreign policy, of course. I heard on the radio later that some thought he was talking tough. He said "We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we hesitate to defend it". I've never had any tolerance for jerks who oppress their women, kill people in ways that would make Charles Manson cringe for listening to music, and then have the gall to gripe about how immoral the west is. I want insane criminals dealt with as much as anyone else.

But it was also heartening to hear that "We reject as false the choice between our security and our liberty". While you cannot ignore extremism and despotism abroad, you can be just as much threatened by extremism and despotism in your own homeland. While defense is a vital part of any country, in recent years this instinct of defense has been exploited to achieve an extremely militaristic agenda.

After the infamous 9/11 attack, we were all united behind one purpose. "Mr. President, do whatever you must to bring those responsible to justice," was what everyone could agree on. Sadly, this unity was cynically exploited by those in Mr. Bush's employ for political gain. Those sought to associate any who dared call them on their antics with enemies of the country, but in doing so, they forgot what the country they said they were defending stood for. It stands, rather, for liberty, the most important of which is the freedom to say, "This sucks!", if necessary. After all, the refusal to stand for any criticism at all is a hallmark of the aforementioned jerks. Extremism of any ideology, right- or left-wing, political, religious, is dangerous to our ideals and indeed to the common good all people share.

Anyway, this post is turning out to be a lot longer than I thought, so let's continue on. Overall, I thought Obama was trying a new approach out in his inaugural address. Before, he used soaring lingo and exuded an air of unbridled optimism. This one was no less optimistic, but this time he outlined in a concise, down-to-earth way. He went through what will be changed now that he is in charge. He called on all Americans to get involved, echoing Kennedy's "Ask not what your country can do for you..." line in his 1961 inaugural address. He mentioned Washington at one point, not as much emphasis on Lincoln as I expected. About the many emotions of this day, I will have to do a separate post, as this one went on longer than I intended. And I am proud to have seen this in person. So as I whistle "Hail to the Chief" once again (I promised myself I would wait till January 20 to start singing it again), I proudly ask, "Mr. President, what can I do for my country?"

This is the Daily Reeder, Over&out.

What a Year... And what a year still to come

To One&all,

Well, tonight is the big night. One red-letter year is about to come to a close. And we are about to embark on another red-letter year. Well, as we all commence with our celebrations, I'd like to take a moment, and a post, to look back on the journey on which 2008 has taken us.

What a year it has been. On my personal front, I have done a lot this year. Early in the year, I got my driver's liscense. Later, I turned 18 (okay, so it took me longer to get my liscense). In June, I graduated from high school. In September, I started college. So far, I have performed decently, but there is still much for me to improve.

On a large scale, we suffered some hardships and achieved some triumphs. Our economy went downhill. First housing, then credit, then fuel prices skyrocketed. Then the stock market started to tank. While this went on, a young, but harkworking senator got people inspired to get involved. Throughout the year, he went from being another candidate, to being the first african-american nominee from a major party, to being president-elect.

Several crises, social, economic, environmental, international, have unfolded this year. This year, I did a lot of thinking about all these issues. And just two weeks ago, I was compelled to start up this blog. These were the challenges, the shortcomings, and the triumphs of this year. 2008 has indeed been a monumental year.

So what does 2009 hold in store for us? This will be a year of transitions and changes. Right now, I am in the process of helping my grandparents move from Denver to Boston. On January 20, George W. Bush will move out of the White House, and Barack Obama will move in. He will face economic, environmental, and international crisis on the first day. 2009 will be the first real year of this blog. Later this month, my college will resume its spring semester.

However, there's no telling now where the journey 2009 has paved for us will lead us. But wherever the course ahead takes us, I will report about it, give a perspective to it not typically heard, and invite you to join me in the process. For now, I hope this year has left you well, and I hope that next year will leave you even better.

For the last time in the year 2008, This is the Daily Reeder, Over&out.