It's been over a year since I last posted an essay on caucus99percent. The drought is over - at least for now. JnH



Two of the things that most humans desire and strive for in their lives are predictability and stability. Both were in short supply over the past twelve months.

One can say with a great deal of certainty that the past year was a truly bizarre one. Old political and social mores and conventions seemed irrelevant, even as a clear path to the future hasn't as yet been defined and carved. What lies ahead for the country, and the world is anyone's guess. Who will be the winners and losers of society? Will a select few thrive while others regress? What changes and surprises lie in store for most of us? As the year thankfully draws to a close, unpredictability and uncertainty hang over the future like a dense fog hiding what's underneath this morass. There is a certain tentativeness in the air, as many crave and long for solutions where none perhaps exist - or are anywhere in sight.

Humorist Dave Barry offers his unique take on events during the past year that consumed our attention like a good horror movie, always unsure of the next nightmarish scene.

Looking back on 2017 is like waking up after a party where you made some poor decisions, such as drinking tequila squeezed from the underpants of a person you do not really know. (At least you hope it was tequila.) The next day finds you lying naked in a Dumpster in a different state, smeared from head to toe with a mixture of Sriracha sauce and glitter. At first you remember nothing. But then, as your throbbing brain slowly reboots, memories of the night before, disturbing memories, begin creeping into your consciousness. As the full, hideous picture comes into focus, you curl into a ball, whimpering, asking yourself over and over: Did that really happen? That’s how we feel about 2017. It was a year so surreal, so densely populated with strange and alarming events, that you have to seriously consider the possibility that somebody... was putting LSD in our water supply. A bizarre event would occur, and it would be all over the news, but before we could wrap our minds around it, another bizarre event would occur, then another and another, coming at us faster and faster, battering the nation with a Category 5 weirdness hurricane that left us hunkering down, clinging to our sanity, no longer certain what was real.

Over the past year, some Rightwing groups flirted with Fascism and old historical symbols were a source of endless controversy, with several now confined to the dustbin of history. Did this cleansing effect create greater understanding and harmony? If anything, it only hardened old, intractable attitudes. Irrationally, or for other inexplicable reasons, people find comfort in clinging to myths, which, not unsurprisingly, are easier to understand and process than the unvarnished truth. Should that surprise anyone? Probably not.

To the extent it is possible to do so, nothing defines this uncertainty clearly as numerous cases of "men behaving badly" started to emerge in the media and several icons in the entertainment industry, politics, and media succumbed to new and old charges of sexual misconduct. What are the future rules of acceptable behavior? Are there any? Who will be tarred and feathered next? Are there new bombshell revelations to come? As they say, time alone will tell.

As the New Year approaches, it seems like every year is dubbed “a year like no other.” But 2017 truly was more dramatic than many other years in recent memory. In the last 12 months, we faced a renewed threat of nuclear war, debated whether to take a knee during the national anthem and resisted the temptation to look at the sun during the total solar eclipse. From increased tensions with North Korea, to a hurricane season unlike any other, to the bombshell allegations of sexual misconduct in Hollywood and beyond... has seemingly emboldened others to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against prominent men. In recent months alone, at least 30 powerful men in entertainment, business, politics and the news media have been publicly condemned for their alleged sexual misconduct and many have lost their jobs as a result, including Weinstein. “The Silence Breakers” of the #MeToo movement, who gave a voice to sexual assault and harassment survivors, have since been named Time magazine’s 2017 Person of the Year. Link

As a nod to a distant blogging path of mine buried in the past on DK, here are a few additional observations and questions of importance that I ask of you through the use of editorial cartoons.

Are you optimistic about the future?

For now, are progressives politically ascendant, or is it just a mirage?

Will the current political climate lead to a world reborn in coming years?

Are the problems of the country best resolved within, or outside the political process?

Does your participation in politics even matter?

How can you effectively contribute to this ongoing debate?

Looking deep into your crystal ball, do have any predictions for the future?

Will Some Things Never Change?

Are Some People Simply Better at Playing the Game of Capitalism?

Is the Democratic Party Incapable of Meaningful Political Reform?

Is the 99% Ever Going to Get Its Just Due?

Finally, is This the ONLY Way Out?

To see a much larger image of this sketch ("The Barricade") from Les Miserables, please click here and then, click again to enlarge text.

I expect to post more editorial cartoons in the comments section. Wishing all of you a very prosperous and Happy New Year.