A whole new year

Well, here we are in a brand new year. Actually, it's a whole new world in fact, what with the old world having come to an end on 21 December last year ... or didn't you notice? Yeah, that was pretty much of a let-down, wasn't it? I've come to expect much more of apocalypses, but maybe I just watch too many movies. Nevertheless, I would be remiss if I didn't at least wish all of you the best of health, peace and happiness for 2013; you're going to have to do your part of course, but I sincerely hope that the coming year is a good one for all of us.

Let's face it: the last one wasn't a very good one, was it? Murder and mayhem, war and rabid saber-rattling, unsuccessful and stolen revolutions, an absolutely brutal American presidential campaign, and not a single problem solved anywhere. Well, at least no big global issues. At bottom (and if we're not there, we're damn close), we're not a bit better off than we were 365 days ago. And as the old saying goes, if things aren't getting better, well, they simply getting worse.

We're still in the holiday season, of course. The 12th Day of Christmas isn't until the end of the week, so we've still got time to build our reserves and our resolve to make the coming year one worth living. We've got a lot of work to do, but if we all pull together, we still stand a chance. But, I'm pretty sure most of you still don't know what we should be pulling for. I think it should have dawned on you by now, but in case it hasn't, I don't mind saying it again: these end-of-the-year holidays have less to do with a particular religion (though that has been the lastest starting point) than they are an opportunity for all of us to turn ourselves around and get ourselves headed in a more positive direction.

It really doesn't matter if you're a non-believer or a believer, and it doesn't matter which flavor or belief you prefer. The guy's birthday which we take as the reason for the season certainly didn't care, so I really don't know why we should make such a big deal of it. We're all in this together. That "this" is everything that counts: this life, this world, this planet, this environment, this society, and last but least this economy, too.

We can do better than this folks. We don't need all the rage, the hate, the strife, the war, the killing and the oppression. We don't need it at all. But as long as we're willing to tolerate it, as long as we're willing to put up with it, we're going to have it and more.

It's is, in the end, up to us: you, me, those folks over there, and those we've never met. It is up to all of us. We've never had a better chance. It's a whole new year. I say we go for it. Who's up for it?