Solstice Reflections

 Winter Solstice Reflections

Hopeful New Year

 

Year’s end and the Winter Solstice brings time for reflection on hopes for the new year. As we gather with family round the fireplace warmth and fresh coffee in our mugs, I offer my list of hopes and things to work on. 

 

It is long past time to tackle climate change and the existential threat it has for our species’ survival. Nations around the globe are waking up and beginning to act. Ours is the richest nation on the planet and needs to take the lead and set the example for the rest. We need to end our dependence on fossil fuels and embrace the wind and sun for the power they provide.

 

It is long past time for people to be hungry. We have the capability to feed everyone on the planet and it should be so. People well nourished can accomplish untold tasks and create new and exciting discoveries. Let’s unleash that potential. 

 

It is long past time for people to be homeless. We have the capability to provide shelter for everyone. People with a roof overhead can find rest and comfort. Those rested have the energy to create and build successful futures. 

 

It is long past time for us to wage wars to resolve differences. We have the skills to resolve conflicts peacefully. We just need to use them. 

 

As we put our planetary house in order, we can collectively resolve more local national concerns. 

 

It is long past time to recommit to our democratic republic form of governance. We have made it work for almost two and a half centuries and certainly can find the way to continue to make it work in our more modern times. 

 

Part of that struggle is to hold those responsible for the recent insurrection which attempted to overthrow our democratic institution of the peaceful transfer of power. Thanks to the courageous Representatives from both parties on the House Select Committee who catalogued the evidence and presented it to the public, paving the way for our justice system to bring those responsible to account. 

 

It is long past time for us to end the pursuit of power for its own sake and the subversion of representative democracy by voter suppression and gerrymandered voting districts. Our representatives should no longer be allowed to pick their voters and pack them into safe districts for one political party. 

 

It is long past time for men to control and define women and the non-binary members of the gender spectrum. It takes all of us to make our existence safe and healthy. All of us deserve equal seats at the table and the right to make decisions about who we are and where we fit. A critical part of that is to allow each of us to control what goes on with our bodies and how we choose to reproduce the species. 

 

It is long past time for people not to have access to affordable quality health care. We know what it takes to help people live healthy productive lives. Access to that care should not depend upon individual wealth or station. All the other major nations on our planet have some form of universal healthcare for their citizens. We need to join them and help share that service to underdeveloped countries.

 

It is long past time for oligarchs to control most of our national wealth. No one creates wealth on their own. Societal structures create safety for creation of wealth. Those who labor for others are critical to creation of wealth and deserve their fair share of what they help to create. We must ensure that those who work for others have a seat at the table where decisions are made on how the wealth they create gets divided. Collective bargaining must be protected and preserved. 

 

We have much to be thankful for and much to celebrate this holiday season. Let us join together in 2023 to make next year better than years’ past. After this Winter Solstice our days will get longer and the dark of Winter will give way to a time when we all will hopefully flourish.