When, on January 1, 2000, the BBC introduced the punning moniker, the ‘Noughties,’ to name the new decade in the manner of the preceding Nineties, Eighties and so on, they were perhaps unwittingly even evoking the ‘Naughty Nineties,’ as the 1890s, a period of relative sexual laxity in Britain, were known. But despite a strong sense that, in terms of popular culture, the ‘Naughty Noughties’ would be an appealingly alliterative and apt appellation for the past ten years, given the increasing worldwide predilections for bling, reality TV, the cult of celebrity and the unhealthy obsession with the foibles of celebrities, the various crises arising during the decade must give pause for thought.
Thus, when we consider the global impacts of crises related to terrorism, the financial meltdown, food security, energy security and climate change, to name but the most prominent, Timothy Garton Ash’s assessment, in his journalism-as-history collection of writings, ‘Facts are Subversive: Political Writing From a Decade Without a Name,’ that the decade is difficult to pin down, might resonate with many.
For most people, however, the decade was defined by the atrocities of September 11, 2001, made immediate and more frightening via the medium of live television, the ultimate reality horror show, as it were. And as the chill of global terror touched in differing degrees the lives of almost everyone around the world, the events unleashed by 9/11 ensured that our planet would be a very different and infinitely scarier place for a long time to come.
Perversely, following the universal outpouring of grief and sympathy occasioned by 9/11, it is the image of the United States of America that has suffered most. The enraged and unsubtle reactions of the wounded giant in pursuing a ‘war on terror,’ that ill-conceived crusade by President George W Bush and his neo-conservative cabal, aided and abetted by Britain’s Tony Blair, along with the deception of the ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ dossier and, for many, the criminal invasion of Iraq, the subsequent revelations of extraordinary renditions and torture, and the erosion of civil liberties in the USA itself, have all done that country’s standing in the world immeasurable harm. All this, the continuing carnage in Iraq and Afghanistan and the now perpetual threat of terrorism have cast an enormous pall over the decade.
The global economic crisis, with its roots in the American financial system, has also served to undermine further the might and authority of the USA. But even as the USA and the rest of the world have had to live for the best part of this period with a sense of America’s vulnerability and decline, there came Barack Obama, with his message of hope for the future and his rejection of hard power for smart power. Mr Obama is, however, still very much a figure of potential and, as he labours under the weight of expectations, it remains to be seen how much he will be able to roll back the awfulness of the Bush years.
Our editorial on Wednesday (‘2009: The decade turns in global affairs’) has already adverted to the structural weaknesses of Western capitalism and the rise of China and India. It may well be that a new world order of geopolitical reconfigurations is upon us, as the so-called BRIC countries, Brazil, Russia, India and China, as well as South Africa, are increasingly recognized as major political and economic players in their respective regions and in international forums such as the World Trade Organization and the G20. In this context, our editorial also had some salutary words for our Caribbean Community and, when read alongside Sir Ronald Sanders’s two-part commentary on a “decade of Caribbean decline,” it is clear that a recalibration of the region’s economic and foreign policy is highly desirable, if Caricom is to progress in the next few years, let alone the next decade.
Speaking of Caricom, it is curiously coincidental that the decade should have ended with President Bharrat Jagdeo as chairman, for regardless of which side of the political divide one stands, this will surely be known in Guyana as Bharrat Jagdeo’s decade, if only because he has been the President throughout.
Unfortunately, the bad has tended to overshadow the good during the decade and we have had a veritable litany of woes, among them, the June 2000 eviction of the CGX oil rig from Guyanese waters by Surinamese gunboats; the spate of brutal murders unleashed by the Mashramani 2002 jailbreak; the vicious murder of Minister Sash Sawh, his relatives and his security guard; the massacres at Lusignan, Bartica and Lindo Creek; the country’s general descent into lawlessness; the rise and fall of Roger Khan; the great flood of 2005 and our continuing vulnerability to the elements and climate change; and our overall lack of physical, economic and human security.
Happily, the maritime dispute with Suriname has been resolved and there are expectations that oil exploration will pay huge dividends. The building of the Takutu Bridge offers the promise of opening our hinterland to development. In addition, the hopes of some have been aroused by the Low Carbon Development Strategy, which, if properly fleshed out and implemented, could address holistically national challenges relating to the environment, climate change and sustainable natural resources development.
Sadly though, after the joy of ushering in the new millennium, it has been a sobering decade, in which, the world over, there has been more to bewail than celebrate. It is not clear what 2010 will bring, nor are we sure what the new decade will be called. But, perhaps we should simply ignore, as one of our regular bloggers yesterday put it, “the change-over from the Old Year [as] an artificial arbitrary human convention,” shake off our hangovers, resolve not to be weighed down by the past, and, to paraphrase our Christmas editorial, work together to effect positive change in the time left to us on this Earth.
