The beginning of a New Year encourages many of us make New Year’s resolutions, and most of us break them in the first few hours, if not minutes, of January. Even realizing this sad situation, we still persist in making them. Perhaps that indomitable wish for improvement in our lives should receive more recognition. It might turn more resolutions into actions.
Last year I looked at the resolutions I had made two years before (lettering in black below) and brought them up to date (Comments in italics). This year, I thought it might be fun to look back at those New Year resolutions and to see what might have come true and what is still relevant today in the past year (Comments at the end of each resolution in a capital letters).
I stated three years ago that I was trying to formulate some basic resolutions for our world. That was arrogant, probably futile, but definitely worthwhile. However, the scope was so enormous that I thought the only sensible way to address the task was with an enormous dollop of caustic humour. I listed them in no particular order……apart from number 1!
1. The removal of Donald Trump from the U.S. Presidency. Can you even begin to imagine the positive opportunities that will open up?Done, although he is still around, unfortunately. EVEN MORE UNFORTUNATELY, HE HAS RE-ENTERED THE PICTURE AS AN EVEN GREATER THREAT TO THE U.S., DEMOCRACY, AND THE WORLD.
2. The United Kingdom should re-join the European Union, and sort out the Brussels bureaucratic nightmare. Hopefully that will also get rid of the U.K.’s resident clown and con-artist, Boris.There are rumblings of the idea but at least the last part, getting rid of Boris, has been achieved. BORIS APPEARS TO HAVE DISAPPEARED PERMANENTLY, WHICH IS GOOD, BUT THE RUMBLINGS ABOUT RE-JOINING THE EU DON’T SEEM ANY CLOSER. ONE CAN LIVE IN HOPE!
3. Vladimir Putin should be told by the Western allies that if he puts one more foot anywhere near the borders of any more sovereign nations, the collective wrath of Western unity will descend on his head. Putin is KGB, and always has been, despite buying nice suits in Saville Row in London. He should be treated like the dictator, murderer and false communist he is. (His personal net worth of $70-$200 billion should be confiscated). Even more valid today. A COMPLETELY VALID, AND EVEN MORE URGENT RESOLUTION FOR 2024.
4. The U.S. should send a carrier task force on a formal visit to Taiwan, making sure they transit the Taiwan Straits before docking in Taipei. This should be accompanied by a formal message to Xi Jinping, which simply says, “Just try it”.Still a good idea, and even more necessary. the Royal Navy has already done it. BIDEN SEEMS TO BE GETTING CLOSER TO THIS IDEA, AND HIS AGGRESSIVE APPROACH TO THE REGION SEEMS TO BE CURBING XI’S AMBITIONS. THE IDEA OF ANOTHER TRUMP TERM WOULD BE AN UNMITIGATED CATASTROPHE, AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. STILL VERY VALID AS A RESOLUTION.
5. The U.S. should abolish the Electoral College and, finally, create a presidential election process that is actually democratic. The hypocrisy of the current presidential election system is intolerable, arcane, undemocratic in the extreme, and embarrassing. No movement at all, except for the electoral count law which has just been revised. NO MOVEMENT BUT AT LEAST IT IS BEING TALKED ABOUT MORE OFTEN.
6. My pet peeve: The U.S. should federalize all U.S. public education under one National system. This is the only way the U.S. can possibly address the current dream of equal opportunity for all its citizens. In my opinion, the emphasis on trying to eliminate racialdiscrimination is a futile pipe dream – we are all tribal and always have been. We must face that fact and deal with it. Equal opportunity, however, is possible and ought to be a primary National responsibility. States’ rights be damned. This should still be a major priority but no movement so far. in fact, the reverse seems to be the current trend. STILL GOING THE WRONG WAY, DRIVEN BY EVANGELICAL IDEOLOGIES. SCARIER, TRUMP MIGHT USE THE FEDERAL IDEA TO MANDATE EVANGELICAL IDEOLOGIES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY’S PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
7. The U.S, should set aside its concept of individual rights in this time of the COVID19 pandemic. You will all damn well get vaccinated whether you like it or not. In this case community responsibility overrides individual rights and freedoms.Still valid though not much movement. THE MOVEMENT IS MIXED. SOME COMMUNITY INITIATIVES, IF YOU ARE AN EVANGELICAL, WHICH IS BAD AND MORE PRO-GUN MOVEMENT, WHICH IS WORSE. INDIVIDUALISM OUTRANKING COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY WILL BE THE DOWNFALL OF THE U.S. – WORSE IF THE DOMINANT COMMUNITY BECOMES THE EVANGELICAL MOVEMENT.
7. We should combine all efforts to colonize the moon, and beyond, as an Earth priority. We will be hit by a life-destroying meteorite at some point. More likely, in the short term, by a life-destroying political or pandemic calamity. Our species needs somewhere to go!The launch of Artemis and the various private launches show significant progress. GREAT PROGRESS, AND LONG MAY IT CONTINUE.
8. Finally, can we please teach history at all levels of our societies. There is a chance that we might learn from it, and, therefore, not be doomed to repeat it. A recent documentary on the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic shows it almost exactly mirrors today’s COVID19 pandemic. We didn’t learn a damn thing from that experience of only a hundred years ago. Think what we might learn if we paid attention to all of human history. Still a pipe dream. GETTING WORSE AS TRUMPISM TRIES TO DENY MANY PARTS OF THAT HISTORY.
Given that three full years have passed since I wrote these, I am surprised that most of them are still relevant – some of them have even been achieved. I offer two new ones:
9. The U.S. should reintroduce the teaching of “Government” and “Civics” in public schools – they stopped doing that in 1975. No wonder the young, lunatic fringes of representatives in U.S. Congress have no idea how government works, and don’t care. Having no ethics doesn’t help either.
10. The U.S. Government should put the domestic and international interests of the United States ahead of those of the Israeli Government in the Middle East, instead of the current situation, which appears to be the other way around. (This resolution is aimed at the Israeli Government and is not antisemitic). The U.S. should forcefully rein in the Israeli Government – cut off all funding for a few days – before the entire Middle East goes up in flames.
On reflection, maybe New Year’s resolutions are not such a futile exercise afterall, they make us think.
