2009 a year of loss and false hope

I don't remember so many well-known folks dying in one year. Here's a partial list of deaths from 2009: Les Paul, Ted Kennedy, Robert Novak, Don Hewitt, Patrick Swayze, Mary Travers, Oral Roberts, Roy E. Disney, Chris Henry, George Michael, John Hughes, Walter Cronkite, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, David Carradine, Dom DeLuise, Jack Kemp, Bea Arthur, Harry Kalas, Ron Silver, Paul Harvey and James Whitmore.

Of course, this was an unusual year in many ways.

Granted, some of these folks were old. But some died before their time for various reasons. I can't help think that all these deaths were just another small part of a rather dismal year -- a year in which even the most optimistic people were tested by the barrage of bad news and sense of loss. Death comes in many forms, and I think we've all gotten a clearer picture of that this year.

2009 was billed as a year of hope and renewal as President Obama took office. But hope, to a large degree, seemed to die along the way, like the many fallen celebrities listed above. While Obama grades his first year in office fairly well, millions of folks lost their jobs and homes due to the recession. Unemployment shot into double figures despite government bailouts. The health-care reform package has many folks worried as the deficit continues to spiral out of control. And we continue to fund wars that few truly believe in anymore.

All of the deaths we've witnessed this year underscore how short life is no matter if you're a famous actor or just an average citizen. It's difficult to go through hard times like we have this year when one realizes that every day, week and month is precious. Yet, there is no way around day-to-day worries in this climate of increasing financial hopelessness, conflict and global concerns. It's getting harder to smell the roses, harder to unearth new opportunities. There is plenty of evidence to indicate that the economy is not going to turn around anytime soon. And does anyone truly believe we're going to be done with Afghanistan in 18 months? The poor keep getting poorer and the rich get richer. Meanwhile, the middle withers away with each layoff, coffin at Dover and foreclosure notice.

For some folks, it's already too late to rebuild. Talk to someone who has lost a son or daughter in Iraq or has been foreclosed upon in their 60s or 70s. Where do those folks go from here? How does one remain optimistic in Fort Myers, Fla., where every other house is abandoned and there are no jobs as drug dealers and other criminals takeover a once vibrant vacation and retirement community. Talk to a young college student who had to drop out because loans weren't available or his or her parents lost their jobs and couldn't afford tuition. Minorities are being hit particularly hard by the recession as are older folks who have become unemployable despite years of valuable work experience and top-shelf work ethics.

I keep hearing hints of things getting better but see no hard evidence of it. Instead, I only see skewed numbers released by government officials with partisan interests. There seems to be an inordinate number of elected officials these days who not only dance around the truth, but claim victory and success when there is neither. Remember Nancy Pelosi trumpeting big wins for the Democrats during the elections in November, when in fact the biggest races were won by Republicans? How about some political types claiming the system worked when a Nigerian man tried to blow up a Delta jet over the weekend. That was nearly the ultimate failure of security measures and governmental policies. The only thing that saved that plane from being blown up was a faulty explosive device and some quick-thinking passengers who restrained the would-be bomber. It was quite obvious that this was a security breach only rivaled by uninvited guests strolling through the White House this year. But we now live in a society where truth is no longer acceptable if it means egg on an administration's collective face, whether it be in government or even at the top levels of corporate America. We've gone from top officials sticking their heads in the sand to their now saying whatever is obviously contrary to all evidence and reason. I guess if they say it enough they think we will believe it. But I digress...

Many of us have cut back...way back. But there reaches a point where you can only cut so much before life becomes too much of a burden and not enough of a joy. The inconvenient truth of our society is that money drives almost everything, including relationships and self esteem. One can only turn down so many invitations to go out because they have no money to buy a round of beers before life become rather lonely. That loneliness, if prolonged, can lead to many more problems that go well beyond being unemployed.

There are setbacks that not only hurt one's checkbook, but can destroy something within us that allows us to hope, wish and work hard to reach our dreams. When too much is lost through no fault of our own, and it happens time and time again over the course of a lifetime or bad economic drought, it's difficult to rebound or to see any light at the end of the tunnel. Yet, most human beings move on and fight to survive another day. Survive for what, I am not sure. But I guess it's just in all living things to cling to life regardless of circumstances. This recession may make it impossible for some to ever resume their previous lifestyles, but they try to endure, to cope and pray.

Hopefully 2010 will bring a real turnaround for common folks and not just for fat Wall Street investors. We don't need anymore false hope from politicians or self-serving economists. We need to see real improvement such as small businesses hiring and banks lending money to those in a position to help rebuild the economy. We need a government that provides more than Band-Aid solutions. But first these politicians and other policy-makers need to acknowledge how bad things are and how much worse they will get if nothing is done. Bailouts aren't the answer. Fundamental changes to the core of how we conduct ourselves is where the true turnaround will start. When the greed stops, the healing will begin.

As I begin to curtail this blog and ponder the possibilities of the new year, I am rooting for President Obama but know he is just one man with limited powers. My eyes are wide open as I am still not sure Obama has the right stuff to restore America. He has an incredibly tough job ahead in a country that seems to be on the brink of becoming second rate. His next year doesn't appear it will be any easier than the first. And if Obama continues to lose public support, as polls have shown, he won't be able to get much done beyond what he's already initiated. I am hoping he, along with Congress and business leaders, can find ways to get people back to work -- not just in any old jobs -- but in careers similar in stature to the ones they had before this economic collapse. That will improve Obama's popularity and restore national confidence more than the passage of health-care reform or global-warming initiatives, which are good things to pursue, but not quite as relevant in people's everyday lives. If that means giving tax breaks to businesses that hire, so be it. If it means ending wars, then the "hawks" will just have to live with that. We need a strong military but we don't need to fight wars against an enemy we can't see or truly defeat in the manner we're going about it. We can't afford these types of wars anymore.

The time has come to rid ourselves of what is perceived as Republican or Democrat ideas. We must do whatever will work and put aside notions of political alliances and ideals. A sense of fairness and trust must be restored in individuals and collectively as a society. We must recognize how short life is and make the best use of our time for ourselves and for the future of the country. Life should not simply become a game of economic and emotional getting-by in a country that once stood tall and provided the one thing people treasured the most -- hope.

2010 has to be a year when we get down to the business of restoring faith in the economy, government and companies, and make some hard choices about where and how we spend taxpayer money. CEOs need to police themselves and stop creating class warfare and institutional mistrust by splurging on themselves one day, and laying off people the next.

This is an opportunity to get it right -- to make America a more fair and just place. We have to reject greed and reward fiscal responsibility in the private and public sectors. If we simply weather this storm with some flimsy fixes and return to our bad habits, 2009 will soon look like the good old days.