Annus Horribilis

In Latin, Annus Horribilis means "horrible year", and 2020 was the very definition of Annus Horribilis. From start to finish, 2020 has seen many calamities. More than one million people worldwide have perished from the current pandemic. There have been obituaries of prominent people, mostly celebrities. Riots over injustices committed by rogue police officers have strengthened the leftists' resolve to take over democracies by any means possible. A major explosion devastated Lebanon's capital Beirut in the days leading up to Hiroshima's 75th anniversary. Web censorship taking over the rule of copyright law is depriving netizens of digital freedoms. But none of these can compare to China getting away with the biggest act of intellectual property theft. The J-31 jet fighter may actually be a product of intellectual property theft and potentially be a knockoff of the F-35 jet fighter. Maybe this is why copyright holders and copyright authorities are being so mean to people who committed copyright infringement, whether the offence is alleged or actual. They have a good reason to be overprotective of copyrighted intellectual properties because rogue dictators and terror groups have weaponized copyright infringement and intellectual property theft for more nefarious purposes.

Truth be told, every year since 2001 was an annus horribilis in one way or another. However, we need to be aware that the "beginning of sorrows" that Matthew 24 spoke about may have already begun. For those who think 2021 will be less positive than 2020, you might well be correct.