Tuesday, December 31, 2019

The Decade That Was

With our opinions clashing thunderously, we, the beleaguered people, have survived the 2010s. Facilitated by social media, it seems to me that now we're ruled by our stubborn opinions even more than we were on Dec. 31, 2009.

These days, wags like to say we're becoming more "tribal." Along with that, pundits regularly decry the lack of "civility" in the tone of how we're currently interacting with one another. Nowhere is that more obvious than in the realm of politics.

However, on this New Year's Eve, I choose not to hurl any new political opinions at you, dear reader. Besides, this late in the year I'm not sure I have any more 2019 opinions.

Instead, here are links to a selected group of opinionated columns and reports I penned during the decade ending tonight. Souvenirs, if you will, of the times. Maybe the 2010s will turn out to be the last decade in which being published in ink on newsprint will matter.

"How Free Are We to Express Hate?" June 21, 2010, RT-D

"Anywhere but Byrd Park" Nov. 30, 2010, RT-D

"Picasso's Richmond Period" Feb. 18, 2011 RT-D

"Richmond's Show-Biz Stifling Tax" June 19, 2011, RT-D

"Tongue Tied" Oct. 22, 2013, Style

"Billy Ray Hatley Tribute" Dec. 10, 2013, Style

"The Gold Standard: Remembering High on the Hog" (1977-2006) Feb. 25, 2014, Style

"Full Circle" July 31, 2014, Style

"The Grace Era" Oct. 21, 2014, Style

"Cream Pies for Bullies: The Importance of Satire" Jan. 24, 2015 RT-D

"The Bluster Meister" July 21, 2015, Style

"Maybe We Should Wrap Those Monuments" June 27, 2015, RT-D

"Serving the Greater Good" Feb. 12. 2016, RT-D

"Robbin Thompson's Real Fine Day" Feb. 29, 2016, Style

"The Turning Point for Richmond's Confederate Monuments?" Mar. 15, 2016, Style

"Shredding Magazines, Dying Comets and John Lennon" Jan. 8, 2017, RT-D

"Shaka Brings Sizzle to Siegel Center" Dec. 6, 2017, Style

"High Hopes for VCU Hoops" and "Home Court Advantage" Oct./Nov. 2019, Richmond Magazine

Why more nostalgia? Who cares about what's in the rear view mirror? Well, to take the next step forward, sometimes it helps to understand how you got here. Happy 2020.

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