In 2016 it was because lots of celebrities died. In 2017 it was probably because of Trump. (I think.) In 2018...I don't really know why.
The latest trend seems to be hating and complaining on how bad the previous year was every December. I don't know if it's because of politics, or if people are just grumpy. But it's gotten out of hand. Being pessimistic and angry is becoming a fad, and it needs to quit. Of course I'm talking about talking about how bad every year is. We live in a world where good and bad things happen, and of course you don't have to focus solely on the good. But, my gosh, have we gotten obnoxious as a species when it comes to pessimism!
I write a post about this because people have now gotten hard to be around. But why try so hard to focus on the bad and get others to as well? Why is that necessary? Is it worth it to write off your year because of 2 or 3 events that maybe didn't even impact you?
Actually, sometimes it is literally becoming a meme. Go on Pinterest in December and you'll find all sorts of text posts like maybe the caption "2018 summed up in one picture" with a picture of a literal dumpster fire. These images don't provide any reasoning, but they take off quickly. I get the feeling that these are posted, someone sees it, their minds go to politics or something, and then they agree and get it repinned. People are literally jumping on the negativity bandwagon.
I will never understand why so many people are spending so much energy on trying to be unhappy and spreading it around.
A couple of complaints I might see....
"There were wildfires that destroyed California!" We live on Earth, and Earth has weather. Sometimes these weather events are unfortunate. You know what's great about this country? The way that everyone comes together to help. What about that? That was a good thing. It's very silly to drown in despair because there was a fire several states away. (This statement does not apply to you if you live in said area.)
"Trump!" Yes. He is a bad president. But why let him ruin your year? In fact, I think it's almost fortunate he's pretty immature. He doesn't have time to actually inflict anything terrible because he's so caught up in staff drama. And in year 4, he's probably going to be too busy campaigning to do anything. Take the president with a grain of salt. Nobody complained about how bad 2005 was after Bush was president...adding to my point that these attitudes are becoming a fad. He'll be out in a few years. If he's bothering you, turn it into positivity and get into activism. Have a good time with it.
"Lots of celebrities died!" This was a biggie in 2016. The kicker is that a lot of the people that complained weren't huge fans of every single celebrity who left us. This is a great example of complaining for the sake of being unhappy.
Keep in mind that you need to take the news with a grain of salt. The news channels need to find ways to draw us in in an era of instant information, so they must get the worst dramatic stories possible. A lot of what I see these days doesn't even really strike me as important news. I prefer the local programs these days...much less drama.
But I think what bothers me most is how everyone treats "this year was bad" as a fact. I used to love BuzzFeed's 2018 recap articles. Now they're just variously subtle digs on how "bad everything was." Thrillist did the same thing. Even kindness queen Ellen DeGeneres has constantly been beating us over the head with the message that "we need happiness right now more than ever." Would someone mind telling me why? We're hardly living in the dark ages here. Just because politics suck doesn't mean they should ruin or run your life. This is not the most politically charged time in history, but people are just now using it as a platform to be miserable and complain about the last 365 days. I'd never seen this before 2012. Again, this only proves that negativity is becoming a fad with little substance behind it.
Of course, I'm mainly talking about BuzzFeed and Tumblr, who isn't happy about anything, so, you know. Maybe not the best way of getting a point across. Google has been doing it too. But the problem here isn't necessarily the complaining; it's the attitude that's catching. And for the rest of us, it's really unpleasant speaking with anyone in December now.
And what about you? What about the times you had with your best friend? What about the time you went on vacation and met a favorite reality star (yep, me and my parents)? What about that free trip to Hershey you won (again, us)? What about Hanukkah and Easter and Christmas and Thanksgiving and your fabulous Halloween costume? Are you honestly going to forget about those things because Trump is a bad president? Since when did politics determine everyone's life? And personally, whether you like the political climate or not, you can't deny that positive changes are happening, even if politics are slow. I think that recent activism is a good thing. It shows that people care.
There was plenty to smile about this year. PLENTY. Dabbing and flossing, if that's your thing. The Thailand soccer players getting out of the cave alive. Good movies and books to be enjoyed. The winter Olympics. And because this is a book blog I should also bring up the Great American Read.
You don't have to see the world through rose-colored glasses all the time, but, internet: please stop creating a culture of unhappiness by acting like it's a fact that the previous year was terrible and assuming all others think the same. Journalists and writers have more of a responsibility here....I'm especially looking at Buzzfeed. Fortunately, it is mostly the internet community.
Or maybe you did have a bad year. That's fine. It happens. People go through tough times, and that's life. I had one in 2012. In that case, I wish you the best for next year. But there's no need to whine about how "bad everything is" just because everyone else is.
Life is short; let's find reasons to be happy. And do it for our sake, so going on the internet or interacting with people isn't an unpleasant experience. Hopefully this fad will come to an end, but we all need to work to stop it. Bad attitudes are something we could all resolve to lose in 2019.
And that concludes my needlessly in-depth, wordy rant. If you got this far, I give you a virtual cookie for listening.
Whether you had a good or bad year, we still have books. And if you need something to look forward to, my 2018 Book Awards just came out, and there is quite the mixture of good and bad there if you want to check them out!
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