I’m pretty sure that’s what people will call 2016 in future times. I’ve not been around said future times enough to know, but it feels like there was more foolishness this year than many of it predecessors combined!

It’s not that surprising really. With as inclusive (nay invasive) as technology has become in the past few years alone, we’re starting to really see that most people have crap in their closets that are more like Jabba the Hut than skeletons… Privacy is almost fictitious, save for the more remote places of the world, and many of us have been indoctrinated into thinking, speaking, and acting in ways that are truly not OK.

There are more subjects on this topic than I have the brainpower to catalogue let alone make arguments for/against so I’m going to do a human thing and generalize (^_^!!)

Yupp, that’s right, I said it: generalize. All of our social divisions are different views of the same thing: what is morally correct? Is it morally correct to spend more money on decking your home out with defense measures while your children starve? On an individual level, at some point the neighborhood and the government would step in to either take the children to a new home where their needs will be met, take more money from you in taxes so they can feed your children, or something of the sort. Is that how our government treats itself? No. So then there is another factor. That factor is authority. The government wields authority so it doesn’t have to play by the same rules as its people.

You know who else doesn’t play by the rules they make for others? Programmers, teachers, bullies, abusers, terrorists, tyrants, and gods.

Meaning those with power have a different set of morals than those who do not have power. The very idea that someone is better than you, or more worthy than you is against the original notions our country was founded upon. However, I heard it all the time in school “it doesn’t matter how (insert something you care about being here) you are, there is someone out there who is better.” This makes it difficult not to size people up when you meet them, and let’s not pretend like the entertainment industry doesn’t objectify people. Mostly women, but any young attractive person who can use their physical appeal is going to do so and in the end they get used for those very same “talents”.

Bringing it back to the nasty green lizards in peoples’ closets; they think their misguided ways are the correct way to think, act, feel, and be! Misguided like the person waving a rebel flag and telling liberals to get over their loss, or the thug who says nigga 30 times in 20 seconds but can’t watch a movie about slaves without getting butt hurt over the word being used in its correct form and context. Confused like the poet who doesn’t own a dictionary and wonders why their work never gets published, or the musician who doesn’t know a concept of music theory and gets frustrated by not being able to play with other musicians. Backwards is the business owner who made $100 million in surplus yet refuses to increase the wages of his workers all the while complaining about their performance. The perceptions of right and wrong have become skewed, like the Fool, we have become confused and been manipulated because of it.

But the Fool is the most powerful character because the Fool can become anything. Whatever is needed; whether it be masculine or feminine, wild or robotic, the Fool can make the change. 2016 has shown us that much of what has been taught was a lie or was just slightly off. We went dicks out for a dead gorilla (and some of us even voted him for POTUS) and we found a way to combine pictures with just a few words for so much win! We discovered the digital and outdoor power of Pokemon as well as how distracting the internet really is.

What I view as our biggest challenge is the fact that we’re so caught up in the little things that divide us and we’ve become so passionate about this thing or that thing that we’ve allowed ourselves to lose sight of common decency in certain areas. Going back to Pokemon Go, look at the 3 teams. Valor is the basic “I want to throw really expensive rocks at my problem” mentality. Mystic is the “stop throwing rocks and complete the 7 different puzzles on the wall” viewpoint… Then there’s Instinct which just says “hey, sometimes a rock is cool, and other times I like puzzles, but seriously why is all the rum gone?” and while they all have their strengths everyone has gotten so caught up in picking red or blue and making fun of yellow that they never took the time to analyze one little thing: all birds take 200% lightning damage.

My point is that if we stopped making enemies out of each other for having differences, and learned to form intellectual opinions on said differences without feeling like we have to love it or hate it, our world would be a better place. Let’s agree that Black Lives Matter without having to go on a rant about how All Lives Matter. Let’s practice our religions in our own sacred spaces without ramming our beliefs down the throats of everyone else. Let’s do what we want to do and stop being cunts to everyone else who wants to do something similar or heaven forbid something different. Let’s stop trying pour doubt into the wine of the hopeful. Let’s dance like fools in the rain to the beat of whatever drum happens to be lying around.

This year may very well be the catalyst needed to drive our world into a point of unsurpassed awesome and I for one hope so. Keep your vibes up, your protection spells on point, and all the necessary potions in abundant supply!

Many blessings to ya!

– Jeremy

P.S. Part III of the summer sadness thing is still going to be written. It just seemed odd to continue writing about summer all the way into new years…