In the twentieth century the 1920's were exciting as people maneuvered through a stylized decade of fashion, culture, and economic prosperity. There was prohibition, and people went to Speak Easys to get their groove on dancing and showing off their stylish dress. While there was a Harlem Renaissance you heard little about the Tulsa race massacre. In many major states women won the right to vote. The media hit us up on the new tv medium along with new sport stadiums and cinemas. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 ended the era as the Great Depression brought years of hardship worldwide.
Well, now I am in my roaring twenties, starting with 2020 and things aren't looking to good. First off, our President Donald Trump has been spreading the big lie that the presidential election was stolen from him and he refused to concede power to our new president Joe Biden. Him and his supported attempted to stop the peaceful transfer of power by storming the capital building on January 6th. People died including police officers as the rioters were eventually contained. However, this was a direct attack on our democracy by an individual would want to become an autocrat here America.
During this time in 2020 the world and the United States was struck by a worldwide pandemic. Covid, as it was labeled ravaged to US and before it was contained over a million people would die from the disease. A vaccine was developed and by social distancing, wearing masks and taking the vaccines when available me and my wife have been able to avoid infection for now. However, the virus is still with us and because of the world supply chain has been severely disrupted along with worldwide economies. People have lost jobs, homes, and the inflation rate has soared.
The new President has addressed these issues by providing stimulus packages and programs to help as many people as possible but that has helped to push inflation as people begin to spend more with less supply available. The housing market has soared as interest rates were at all-time low with limited inventory. I was able to refinance my home and pay off our condo while my equity in both properties increased by 13% in 2021. Things economically are a mess as the Feds try to curb inflation by raising interest rates at a historic pace which many say will eventually trust into a recession.
On top of that I have just went thru one of the strongest hurricanes to hit Florida in decades. My wife Donna was visiting her mother in Louisville, and I stayed home. Heard of the hurricane coming while she was gone, and I decided to stay in Tampa and shutter our place. We were supposed to get a direct hit but by the grace of God hurricane Ian made landfall south of us. It was disaster for the people Fort Meyers and my heart goes out to them and others more heavily impacted by the storm. This was a storm of the century type of events and will have ramifications on people's lives for decades. Hurricane season is only a third of the way over and there could be more storms to come.
The midterm elections of 2022 are coming and the fate of the country moving forward hangs in the balance. The far right and Trumpers of the Republican Party will try to gain control of the government, both country and statewide. They have already been able to stack the judiciary with conservative judges as demonstrated by the Supreme Court's decision the throw out Roe vs Wade and remove a woman's right to abortion. Donald Trump is still in control of the party, even as he is being investigated by the Justice Department and several states for criminal offenses. One being the taking of classified documents from the White House when he left office.
Last but not least has been the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, has declared the Ukraine is Russian land and that the democratic government, who he called Nazis, should be ousted. Russia was already under sanctions for their invasion and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula which was part of Ukraine. The Ukrainians have received military aid from the US and the EU to resist the invasion. They have held off the Russians and vowed to fight for their country, even as they are outmanned. Their resolve has begun to make inroads in retaking territory previously secured by the Russians and exposed some of their weaknesses. Put, with his losses has begun desperate and implied the possible use of nuclear weapons to win the war. He has drafted 300K soldiers. People in Russia are starting to push back on the war at home because of this. This threat of world war is real and makes the world a dangerous place to live in, the roaring 20's.
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