A Decade to be Ashamed of

Jan 1, 2000 - Dec 31 2009.What a disaster of a decade. Sure we can look at some of the good things that happened over the last ten years, but it will never overshadow some of the worst events of the decade including:

Iraq. We invaded a country based upon fabricated intelligence. It has cost our country nearly a trillion dollars and the respect of the entire world. We lost over 4300 American soldiers and wounded over 31,000. And yet not one single person was held accountable for the biggest mistake in our country's history. Worst of all, we as a country, did nothing to demand accountability.

Afghanistan. After the worst attack on American soil, we started, then abandoned the war in Afghanistan in order to invade the wrong country. And now we are suffering for the mistake. And again, we have held no one accountable.

Enron. A disaster that affected so many families, some losing their lives, some losing their retirement. And yet we as a country did nothing to prevent this from happening again. And then it happened again.

Banks, Wallstreet, and Mortage failures. You would have thought the horrible Enron experience would have helped us prevent another massive failure, unfortunately, that didn't happen. The financial crisis of the late 2009 devastated the country. Many families lost their homes and their financial stability. And our country was on the brink of another depression.

Katrina. Our country watched the botched evacuation of an entire city while some were patting each other on their back for a "heck of a job". An agency that was once a strong, sound entity became the perfect example of a breakdown of a starved government entity coupled with incompetent management. It was an embarrassment to our nation.

Torture. We saw our country stoop to the level of terrorist by supporting and condoning the torture of prisoners of war in violation of the Geneva Convention and in violation of our own Constitution. And yet only the lower level members of the military were held accountable. It was one of the darkest moments of our entire history.

Illegal Wiretapping. Through a leak to the media, we found that our own government was illegally spying on American citizens and had initiated an illegal surveillance program, once again in violation of the Constitution of the United States. And yet we condoned it and held no one accountable.

Yep. It was a pretty bad decade. Let's not forget it. Let's learn from it. Happy New Years! It can only get better!