Four Nerds

I have been feeling the need to rant lately, and I think the time has come. It's been brewing in me for some time.

I was working on a project at the office today (for those of you who don't know me, I work for a video production company) and I was reviewing a video when something caught my attention. The subject said "We, of course, live in very uncertain times..."

I almost lost it. When, exactly, were times certain? When was it that everything was hunky-dory? Was there an era in which the world just chilled out?

This is a phrase that seems to pop up every so often, ever since September 11th. It really pisses me off. Yes, the world changed on September 11. There is no denying that. Yes, it was not only a pivotal day in our nation's history, but one of our most terrible tragedies. I do not want anyone to think for a second that I am belittling that event.

What gets to me is that phrase, uncertain times. The entire history of the world is one big, long uncertain time. I think some people harken back to the good ol' days when they were kids and think about when times were simpler, and the world was more innocent.

Bullshit. Times were simpler back then because A) You were a kid, and B) your parents made it seem that way. To say that times were simpler back then is a disservice to those who made it seem that way for us.

There were no simpler times. There never has been. Just different times. Sure, there's pockets of time when things seem okay. For most of us in the US, the 1990s were pretty good. The US was more prosperous than ever. But was it a simpler time? Ask anyone in Rwanda or Yugoslavia.