Last December, Business Inside republished a collection of predictions for what life would be like in 2011. The predictions, originally by The New York Times in 1931 as part of its 80th anniversary celebration, asked such visionaries as Henry Ford, William Ogburn and W.J. Mayo what they imagined life would be like in 80 years.

Some were way off — ‘wealth will be distributed equitably’ — while some were fairly accurate — ‘Labor force will peak and government will grow.’ But no one, not even the Mayans, could have predicted the s**t storm that was the last 340 days.

With corruption, revolution, natural disaster, abuse, economic uncertainty and an abnormal amount of leaked penises via cellphone cameras, 2011 got real.

But in light of the holiday season and the belief that every cloud has a silver lining, regardless of how thin that line may be, for everything bad that happened in 2011, something (kind of) good followed.

World

Bad: Prince William is no longer single. Good: The world was introduced to Pippa Middleton’s butt.

Bad: North Korea is still sketchy. Good: The Middle East finally revolted, sparking another wave of democratic reform — possibly.

Bad: A tragic tsunami shook Japan’s coastline. Good: China’s fine.

Bad: Eurozone crisis. Good: Newfound hope that the exchange rates will finally drop.

Bad: Harold Camping’s advertised predictions that the world would end on May 21, then again on Oct. 21. Good: It didn’t.

Nation

Bad: Al-Qaeda gets pissed off. Good: Because Osama bin Laden is dead.

Bad: U.S. government nearly defaults. Good: President Barack Obama lives to celebrate 50th birthday.

Bad: Casey Anthony’s not guilty. Good: Michael Jackson’s doctor is.

Bad: Republicans. Good: Mitt Romney’s hair.

Bad: Occupy Wall Street’s unclear motives and lack of leadership. Good: Jokes about Occupy Wall Street’s unclear motives and lack of leadership.

Syracuse University

Bad: Child molestation. Good: Syracuse men’s basketball is 9-0.

Bad: Student Association denied Jerk Magazine funding for spring semester. Good: Finally, a hot SA president. What up, Dylan Lustig.

Bad: SU’s drop to No. 62 on the U.S News and World Report. Good: SU remains a top-15 party school.

Bad: SU leaves the Big East for the ACC, so long SU-Georgetown rivalry. Good: More money!

This year would have been much worse if we hadn’t caught Osama bin Laden, if the government actually defaulted or if Mitt Romney had a bald spot. Things aren’t all that bad. Just imagine if we were Penn State.

Too soon?

The only lesson to take away from 2011 is that Santa Claus is our last hope. That’s a joke, kind of.

Here’s to a festive season, a joyful New Years and a wish that 2012 doesn’t result in the end of all mankind (though there’s no better excuse to load up on the rum and eggnog).

Happy holidays, everyone.

Lauren Tousignant is a senior communications and rhetorical studies and writing major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at letousig@syr.edu. 

Published on December 7, 2011 at 12:00 pm