A Eulogy for Our 2010s; a Prayer for Our 2020s

A Concerned Citizen
4 min readDec 31, 2019
One lonely firework for the new decade. Courtesy of watts photos1, licensed under CC BY 2.0

Globally, the story of the last decade has been the gradual rise of right-wing nationalist movements, goaded on by advances in technology and the expansion of unregulated social media, resulting in conflict and turmoil.

Similar stories played out just about everywhere: from Europe to the Middle East to the United States to India. Even nations whose politics might not reflect this plot still were impacted by this global movement — Norway and New Zealand, for example. Many of us now fear we are on the precipice of a greater, global struggle that could impact the course of this planet for generations.

Personally, my story of the last decade has been the struggle to find where I belong in the world and gradual self-acceptance.

At the start of this decade, I was finally beginning to acknowledge past traumas and my identity as a gay man. I was teetering on the brink of alcoholism, plagued by suicidal thoughts, and feeling especially lost. As this decade concludes, I have put many of those struggles to bed and found a comfortable, stable life. I am in a significantly happier place now than I was at the start of this decade. And although all standards for success are subjective and somewhat arbitrary, I feel I have succeeded in building a better life for myself than before. The turbulence has subsided.

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A Concerned Citizen
A Concerned Citizen

Written by A Concerned Citizen

Publishing thoughts and insights related to local, state (California), national, and global politics. All opinions are my own.

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