As another year draws to a close, there’s nothing like a casual perusal of twelve months’ worth of blogs to help bring a small sense of perspective into what we’ve all been through.
Well - at least this seems momentarily to be true for me…
Though I hadn’t done so in years past, I reread my past twelve monthly blogs immediately before typing this end-of-year entry. And - surprisingly enough - it was fairly enjoyable reading! What a long, strange year it’s been…
Small, hard-earned and possibly fragile victories seemed to be the common theme.
First of all, the entire January 6th Commission should be lauded, celebrated and thanked profusely. This was pure competence and diligence in action. I WILL download the Final Report soon. The concept that the instigator (who happens to be a former President) may not only be indicted but THROWN IN JAIL is no longer a wistful dream. Actions have consequences, as we all have experienced in our own daily lives. Justice on such a grand scale will be an amazing moment in the history of this democracy.
Volodymyr Zelensky has been awarded Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year”, a decision I of course applaud. My February blog had me tip-toeing between despair for the entire world and a shocked sense of optimism that we might be witnessing a David and Goliath moment. True leadership being seen world-wide is so rare and inspiring, and we are all witnesses in a real sense. In the months since, my admiration has only grown.
To my mind, the American citizen most deserving of this award would have been none other than Cassidy Hutchinson, to whom I offered unabashed praise in my July blog. Her amazing testimony and faultless memory in the face of overwhelming obstacles will go down in history as the profiles of courage they clearly were. Our nation is indebted to her. There were a host of other - mostly Republican - witnesses who refused to be intimidated into not telling the truth as well; maybe the idea of having grown-ups in the room will catch on. Do we dare hope?
And of course the mid-term elections… A potentially disastrous “Red Wave” never materialized. This Democracy continues and votes still matter.
None of these developments were preordained. All of these victories had to be earned.
There were fun 2022 moments as well. Aaron Judge followed up his historic 62 home run year by (thankfully!) re-signing with the Yankees for another nine years while becoming the 16th person ever to reign as the team “Captain”. We’ll likely never witness another World Cup final as compelling as the Argentina/France match we were treated to two weeks ago. And hey - as long as I’m throwing out random praise, I might as well mention how nice it was to see two old pros - Steve Martin and Martin Short - be the bright point of what has been a decidedly mediocre new season of Saturday Night Live so far. Maybe getting on in years has a few advantages after all.
Hope felt like a fading dream as little as two years ago, but with the help of a few key individuals here and there, we have reason to believe in ourselves, our country and this world again. I’m well aware of the hurdles ahead, but I have strong faith that 2023 will be a year of continued progress. All of us, in our own small ways, have an obligation to remain vigilant.
But for now, it’s OK to take a bit of a break to catch our breath. At the end of the day or an eventful year, we should all grant ourselves a moment to relax and be grateful.
In my case, this moment was manifested as a Guinness and a half sandwich following a long shift working the World Cup final…
Thanks again for all your support - please feel free to read the 2022 blogs in their entirety!! - and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!