I know, 2016 is technically not a “dude” but given how much shit has gone on this year, I think it’s perfectly apt for the final Naw, Dude of, well, 2016.
In the short span of one year, 2016 has provided us a lot to be un-thankful for. There’s obviously the insanity surrounding the U.S. election, none of which I will rehash for everyone’s mental health. But I will quickly add to this the immense spreading of misinformation on all sides which will no doubt influence future news and the possibility of a foreign power interfering in it. We also had North Carolina enforcing their bathroom bill, with the whole back-and-forth on that is still going, and that heartbeat bill in Ohio.
Along international lines, there is the awful assault in Aleppo, Brexit, and the spread of the Zika virus.
Then there are the celebrity deaths: Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Prince, David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Nancy Reagan, Janet Reno, Gene Wilder, and many more.
And I’m just skimming the surface.
But to all this, I say Naw, Dude. Naw, you don’t get to leave me pulling out my hair yelling “WTF!” You don’t get to see me curled up in a corner in the fetal position (again) wondering what this all means for our future. You don’t get that satisfaction.
Naw. Because you are only one year in a lifetime which means we can use what’s happened to reflect, pull up our bootstraps, and get going. Because you have exposed so much that still needs fighting for. Because there have always been troubling times and human beings are a resilient species.
There are still two days left to you and, if the past few days are any indication, you will go out fighting. But then 2017 starts and to 2017 I say “let’s do this.”