Next year, and last year, all in one.

2016 is almost over. It was a year that seemed to last forever. It was a unfortunate year in many ways. Looking back it is difficult, at least before a 3rd cup of coffee (on the 2nd one now) to find any highlights at all. But, it is easy to see patterns forming. Extrapolating from these patterns is not difficult. So, before the Life Explained Year in Review we are going to have the Life Explained Bold New Predictions.

Donald Trump won the presidency riding the fame of a reality television show. His brash, abusive style unchanged from television to the campaign trail. Bullying his way through the primaries, insulting  his opponents, belittling the press, and attacking the solemn institution of American democracy. And the crowd went wild. No matter what you thought of his election it signaled a change. The most powerful office in the country no longer has requires any qualifications, experience not necessary. It opens the door to anybody who is comfortable in front of a camera. Which spells real excitement for

“Fake” news was a hot topic in 2016. People read it, passed it along, held it dear. Fake news, according to people who study these things, is nothing new. What really surprised most people was the willingness of people to embrace news so bizarre. If it supported their beliefs it was good enough for them, and good enough for the people they knew. It was shared, liked, loved, commented on in astonishing numbers. America loves a good bit of gossip, so much so that it has been institutionalized, given a place of honor in the national dialog.  This probably means the incidence of less than true news to skew public opinion will grow, expand. And here is a bold prediction, Americans will eat it up.

To recap, future elections will pit one television star against another, and propagandists will light the way. One thing that will be nice, we will have much higher voter turnouts for a Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West campaign. When we start bringing in professional wrestling stars it will get very exciting. Oh the anticipation.

There you have it, not only was this the prediction episode of Life Explained, it was the year in review, for no additional fees.