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Previous articles by Cowboy Y2K
Get Tough
On Crime
Clinton's Kosovo Stratgey
Well, it's now 1 AM on January 1, 2000. The lights, the phone, and the gas are still working. The computer (obviously) ain't crashed (neither have any planes), and the world hasn't come to an end. So what was the big deal? Was this whole Y2K business merely the geeks' revenge?
These days, too many people are eager to embrace any scenario involving disaster or conspiracies. Oliver Stone's movies make millions with their revisionist history. Television shows about hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters clog the airwaves, competing with the shows about man-made disasters. The headlines tell us every day that the world is going to hell in a handbasket. With the world in such a sorry state, it's a wonder that suicide isn't the leading cause of death.
The simple fact is that we are better off than any previous generation, and in the US, we have it better than almost anybody else in the world. People living on welfare in big-city housing projects have a standard of living that compares favorably with that of the middle class in most countries. (In most of the world, refrigerators, plumbing, television and radio, elevators, cars, and a diet of more than just subsistence level of a few foods are all considered luxuries.) Even minimum wage jobs pay more per week than many people in the world see in a year.
Maybe the problem is that we have things too good. We take so much for granted--life expectancies two to three times as long as a hundred or so years ago, creature comforts that would put a Roman emperor to shame, and technology nobody could have dreamed of only a few decades ago. With all this leisure time, people who have no worthwhile lives of their own can find nothing better to do than bitch about how other people lead their lives.
For example, here in Chicago, the Fire Department has been in the news several times over the last couple of years. There have been major "scandals" about firemen drinking at a retirement party, and (supposedly) making racist remarks; firemen giving a ride to some people looking to escape a drunken friend who was driving; and other similar nonsense. Personally, I don't give a rat's ass if the fireman who saves my life, or that of a friend or family member, is white, black, "politically correct", or whatever. He's a hero in my book. But the busybodies would have us all think otherwise.
The same thing applies to the do-gooders who try to regulate every aspect of our lives. Unlike a hundred years ago, we don't have tens of thousands of people dying of typhus, cholera, influenza, measles, and such each year. Now the worry is about a few hundred (or fewer) people dying from some misused product or life style choice. The world must be made safe, even for people too stupid to protect themselves. Down this road lies loss of individual freedom.
Although I'm well known as a cynical SOB, I am, at heart , an optimist. I like to think that things can, and will, get better. I hope that people (meaning you, gentle readers) will get off their butts and tell the do-gooders and politicians that enough is enough, and that individuals are perfectly capable of running their own lives without outside interference. If we can accomplish that, I have high hopes for the 21st century (which starts a year from today).
SPECIAL BONUS!!!!!!
COWBOY'S MOVIE REVIEW!
I recently saw the movie phenomenon of 1999, "Blair Witch Project" Without a doubt, it is one of the worst movies ever made. It was not scary, it was not entertaining, it was just plain BAD!!! After about five minutes, I was hoping for the witch (or anybody!) to pop up and kill these three mopes, and put me out of my misery. Japanese sci-fi movies from the 50's have this dog beaten cold in all respects, including plot, technical values, acting, and anything else you can think of (and a few you can't!). All in all, this movie's only virtue is that, through massive use of advertising and hype, it made somebody a hell of a lot of money. Don't give them yours.
Cowboy
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