2020 is Dead...

 ...but the memories will last a lifetime. Remember when I joked this time last year that 2020 looked nothing like Blade Runner or Godzilla: Final Wars? Okay, so we didn't get homicidal androids running around the place and prehistoric mutants laying waste to whole cities, but you've got to admit that by April it did start to feel like we were living through a generic sci-fi disaster movie - albeit one where you're sat on your arse the whole time waiting for the plot to kick in. Oh, it was quite the novelty at first: even those of us who had doubts about the efficacy of lockdowns played along, taking in the hysteria and counting down the days until we could walk down the street again without being harassed by a police officer one Mars bar away from a coronary. So, we waited and waited, but that much longed-for moment of grace never came. Instead, mud-slinging, guilt trips, financial penalties, prosecutions, missed diagnoses, business closures, job losses and evictions became the order of the day, and soon the prospect of having to endure indefinite house arrest to combat a virus with a 99.7% survival rate no longer felt like a tolerable inconvenience. This, we were constantly told, was The New Normal. Some even called it The Great Reset, although others were quick to point out that's just a conspiracy theory.

Well, whatever the hell's going on - and something clearly is - I'm personally finding it hard to look on the bright side. In fact, as 2020 expired I decided to pay tribute to this fallen year by listening to an appropriate piece of music - one that, I felt, allowed for personal reflection while also taking in the uncertainty that lies ahead:

© UMG/Deutsche Grammophon (DG)

Never let it be said I lack a sense of grandeur. But apart from coronavirus, of course, 2020 also gifted us another shock to the system that few of us sensed was coming. Here's how most of the media covered it:

Click to enlarge

Okay, WordJam has been critical of Trump in the past, but I'm not playing along with this insufferably righteous, not to mention blinkered, view that his Presidency was an abomination. Like Brexit, Trump's victory in 2016 was a message to the political establishment from voters who were no longer willing to sacrifice their aspirations and allegiances on the altar of neoliberalism. Far from being the racist dog-whistle that many on legacy and social media have claimed over the last five years, 'Make America Great Again' was a rallying cry for a return to pride in your work, your community and your nation: in short, pride in yourself as a citizen of the United States. Far from being exclusionary, this message unites race and class. So I ask you, when you turn on the news and see something like this:

are you looking at a nation united in support and solidarity against alleged wrong-doing, or isolated incidents being seized upon by Democrat-affiliated groups to smear the incumbent political party and further a dishonest narrative? If it's the latter, then it's even more disturbing how they insult your intelligence by pretending it's not what it looks like. As a matter of fact, it reminds me of something but I can't think what...

 

Oh, yeah:

                                                           © Paramount Pictures 

But, what do I know? I'm just some hack who takes potshots at a world he finds increasingly moronic and incomprehensible. All I'm saying is don't expect this divisive and deceitful rhetoric to disappear now the Oval Office is about to be occupied by a creaking, septuagenarian career politician whose whole campaign was predicated on stoking racial tension, exploiting a public health crisis and emphasising that he's not Trump. After all, as the old saying goes, you reap what you sow - and as I see it, once those seeds grow they'll be so tangled and knotted that the harvest won't come soon enough.

Anyway, leaving the misanthropy and cynicism aside for a moment, I'd once again like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a very happy new year and thank you for continued support. I don't post as much as perhaps I could, and sometimes my content is a bit on the esoteric side, but if it amuses, interests or entertains then that in some way at least makes up for the irregularity. Either way, make sure you stay tuned to WordJam: the greatest blog on the etherweb. But don't take my word for it - check out these endorsements from some high-profile page visitors:

Taylor Swift:

"Your faithless love's the only hoax I believe in..."

Robin DiAngelo: 

       "Did ya miss me, Richie? 'Cos I missed you... Now float, you beautiful racist!"

Mike Pence:

"Richard English is a morally bankrupt, self-serving prick with a streak of snot where his brain should be..."

Antifa:

 

"Oh, you better believe we're coming for you, you Wagner-loving, Nazi bastard..."

...Onwards, folks