2020

I am excited about 2020 for many reasons. One is that we will call it (I hope) Twenty Twenty and the trend of pronouncing years as one long number, i.e. two thousand nineteen has reached it’s natural twenty year limit.
Many people are saying “Hooray, it’s the 20s again!” as if there is some reason to think the 2020s will follow the pattern of the 1920s, which there is not, and actually it would only be a mixed blessing if they did. Sure, there were flappers, and lots of fun times, and everybody looks at it now and thinks of the Great Gatsby, but really, that was only if you were rich. Poor people weren’t spending the whole decade drinking champagne in mansions. Also, in the U.S., it was the era of prohibition, so alcohol was actually illegal.
2020, of course, will be a leap year, and an Olympic year, and a presidential election year, because these things happen every 4 years, and they are all for some silly reason synchronized.
It will no doubt be a pivotal year, because of that election. Good v. Bad, Smart v. Stupid, Compassionate v. Cruel. At any rate, provided Sanders gets the nomination. If not it will be Bad v. Bad, Stupid v. Stupid, and Cruel v. Cruel, and the whole year will be a big disappointment.
I think the outcome will depend on one other key conflict: Old media v. New Media. If newspapers and TV dominate, and shape public opinion, this year may suck very badly indeed. If new media is dominant, things will get very interesting and Sanders will win.