As the ball drops in Times Square and the sun prepares to rise on a new epoch, they will all rush to the fore, making life just that much more interesting. The first, financial meltdown, is very much doubted by this author. Though the new vogue notion that the GDP is an ever-expanding perpetual motion device is absurd on its face, there is a kernel of wisdom to be foraged from the wackiness. America is the richest nation the world has ever known. Even our poor have food, shelter, television, transportation and, quite often, obesity.
Riches have a way of smoothing over a multitude of sins.
Of course, after living with our less rich neighbors to the North for awhile, one would have to be blind not to notice that a byproduct of riches is carelessness. Though some would be tempted to argue that destruction in not accidental, her broader point sparkles. Someone once managed to sell this scribe on the old wives tale that the fall of the Roman Empire was a result of switching to lead pots. The ability to split atoms is the best possible generator of energy that mankind has ever known but tell that to a resident of Hiroshima. Similarly, a space saving mechanism that became a part of hacker etiquette could result in all sorts of nasty things.