The dismal last days of 2002 pointed to a nation in need of change, a blood transfusion, some energy to get going again. We are weary of many things, but find ourselves at the bottom of a very large hill--very daunting when you're already tired of walking. As we ease into the new year, there are many challenges which need to be met. The new year will be shaped by how well we deal with them.

For the second holiday season in a row, there were "servicemen overseas" promos from the local TV station. Last year, we were engaged in Afghanistan, counting down the days until we could throw a noose around Osama bin Laden's neck and watch a nationally televised snuff film. And then it all disappeared. Not that we've left Afghanistan (there is still fighting, and the occasional attack by whoever we're fighting against there), but the fun part is over. The occupation will take years and, who knows, we might just pull out before anything is truly resolved and rebuilt. This is our M.O.

But this year everyone was in the Persian Gulf. Wives were talking about being strong, wishing their husbands were home, but we've got to fight the good fight. But what fight is that? Considering that sequels are almost always worse than the original, who wants to see Gulf War II? We certainly don't want to pay for it. The problem is, everyone seems to have acquiesced to the notion that we are going to go to war. Again.

And no matter how noble we want to feel about doing something like this, if we take the new Lord of the Rings movie as a point of comparison, we are not the race of men, elves and hobbits fighting the evil army of Sauron. We are the evil forces overwhelming the good guys. We are the biggest and most powerful nation in the world, so we can never be the underdog.

Who has the ring? And what happens when they get to Mount Doom? I don't think we're worried about this at all. We have always thought of our nation as right and good, but if this is true, why are we the aggressor?

Questions that need answering are sometimes deflected by blanket statements of patriotism and national security. Beware of the waving hand, for the other is covered, curled and ready to strike.

Unemployment is higher than it's been since the early 90s. Our economy is still sputtering because of this. And the layoffs are not over. This will continue to struggle for another year because focus is not on this issue. When the government spends multiples of the domestic agenda to threaten and fight other countries, obviously the plight of the out of work American is not a top priority.

Cutting payroll taxes does nothing for people who make no money. Those people already have their taxes cut, they actually would gladly pay some if they could get some cash into their pockets. And the trickle down economic policy (give money to businesses in hopes that they hire more people) doesn't work as well as the administration seems to think. Business owners will make sure their existing businesses are taken care of before expanding. And, for most companies, expansion isn't an issue. Survival is.

This year should be about the normal American deciding what they are made of and what they want. Will the eventual war in Iraq bring about another patriotism facade that blots out the cries of all peace loving citizens or will it show that most Americans have no use for this war mongering? I'd rather have a stable country than an aggressive country. Violence begets violence. This doesn't mean that there will be a huge amount of resistance in Iraq (a repeat of the quick capitulation of the first Gulf War is almost a certainty), but it does mean that terrorists who have so far resisted attacking the U.S. proper since the attacks over a year ago will probably figure out something else to blow up.

This, of course, will help Bush. A direct attack on the U.S. will shift national attention back to fear and "security." It begs the question: if our violence against another country spurs violence against us, then isn't it our fault? Aren't we being the catalyst for our own doom? When we sell a country weapons and then demand that they reveal and destroy them, aren't we just a little bit responsible? Aren't we being a bit hypocritical since we own a hundred or a thousand times more weapons than the country we are accusing of "threatening our national security?" Aren't we threatening the other country's national security with our own saber shaking?

And so the new year begins with uncertainty and violence. In Albuquerque, three people were shot at a pawn shop on Friday afternoon. Possibly a domestic dispute, possibly about money. Desperation is the world's worst perfume. The United States is desperate for change. You can smell it in the air. And it stinks.

Matt Worley is going to go take a shower.