What Would You Change in 2011?

Cynthia MacGregor, in her great newsletter, asks for contributions to the question: "What one thing do you most hope will change for the better in 2011?"

There's not just one thing that gets me going.  So I sent her an answer much longer than she requested.  Here goes:

In 2011, I have so many hopes and expectations (and fears they may not take place) I almost hesitate to list them all.  Most will take far longer than one year to accomplish, but we are either planting the seeds of these changes in 2011, or stamping out the seedlings of hope and possibly the salvation of our future and way of life. I have a feeling that 2011 will be a year of change, of controversy, and of discovery.  We must rethink many of our preconceptions and beliefs in order to prepare for a better future.

I hope we can mostly rid the world of pollution that is poisoning our air, our lungs and our bodies, and probably contributing to the current climate warming cycle.

I hope that people can learn tok, and accept the necessity of, recycling almost everything, and the need for home and office insulation, even if it takes government subsidies to do it.

I hope that we can eliminate the need for crude oil, so we can stop supporting those countries that dedicate themselves to terror and the repression of women.

I hope we can implement clean, harmless methods of energy such as solar, wind, and ocean currents, which are currently going to waste.

I hope for invention and distribution of an inexpensive cooking method that will slow down deforestation and the destruction of the environment in so many countries.

I hope that more will be done to insure that the food we buy is actually good for us, not junk food that damages our bodies.

I hope we can begin to eliminate the national debt in more productive ways; increasing tax on the wealthy, on cars that use excessive gas per mile, on appliances, heating and lighting that consume excessive electricity, on moving factories outside the USA and then shipping the goods back, on excessively large dwellings, on non-nutritive foods and junk foods - there's an endless list of possibilities that would improve our living conditions while whittling away at our national debt.

I hope that less invasive, destructive and painful ways of treating diseases will be found, and prevention discovered for most illnesses, handicaps and birth defects.

I hope that people realize we CANNOT keep on increasing the world's population, and the reasons for doing so, such as hope of support in one's old age or hopes that one's children will do what we failed to accomplish in life, are recognized and resolved.

I hope we realize we cannot live only for our excessive lifestyle in the USA but have a responsibility for all the world's countries and people.

I hope that more wealthy people emulate Bill Gates and Warren Buffet and arrange for most of their wealth to be used to improve world conditions, instead of leaving it all for heirs to squabble over and waste.

I hope that people of deep religious faith learn to accept that other faiths are also useful, valid, and possibly a variation of worship of a same Supreme Being, and that many paths can lead to the same destination.

I hope for less wars, less repression and less genocide, a vain hope indeed as long as conditions such as hunger for power, for food, for medical treatment, for decent living conditions and a semi-secure future still exist in so many places.

I hope that people have the courage and foresight to actually think about, campaign for, and work toward these goals rather than ignoring them or having a knee-jerk reaction against them.

Please let me have your responses, wishes and ideas.  Contact us.

Best wishes for a productive, healthy and happy (and better) new year in 2011.