Dare We Welcome In 2013?

By James Donahue

Do you feel it? There is change in the air as we move from the disastrous year of 2012 into another New Year’s celebration. But will this change be something we want, or will we tremble in its shadow? Surely all of the elements of disaster are building around us.

It is obvious that our elected "leaders" on both state and national levels are so embroiled in the conservative vs. liberal (i.e. Capitalism vs. Socialism) dispute that they cannot accomplish much of anything on behalf of the people. We have become so trapped in unending wars, and under the influence of the Pentagon generals and corrupt corporate private armies that we have spent ourselves into debts so deep it is impossible to fathom the numbers.

We now find ourselves facing super storms of such magnitude that they are spreading paths of death and destruction across the landscape. Yet we cannot seem to overpower the corporate powers that force us to continue using the carbon-based energy that is causing the disasters befalling us and turn, instead, to natural green and renewable energies that are so readily available.

There is fear, hatred and mistrust among nations, among nationalities, among religious groups and among neighbors. Wars, mass killings and violent demonstrations in the streets sweep the news nearly every day. More and more nations now possess atomic bombs and other fearsome tools of warfare, all so powerful that billions of people could be destroyed at the push of a button.

So how can we dare to celebrate the arrival of a new year?

There is something grand about turning over that calendar and starting a new year, even if it is all just by the numbers. Mentally we perceive it as being given a fresh start and a chance to try to do things all over again, and hope this time we do a better job of it.

When you think about it, if we could just bring ourselves around to think correctly, with loving hears and light in our soul, all of the potential disasters looming over our heads can be fixed in a few easy strokes.

The members of the U.S. Senate and Congress need to forget that we have a black man in the Oval Office, and corporate bosses paying for their votes. They need to learn humility and gratitude, gain a sense of national price and start working for the people who elected them.

There needs to be an end to war. It is a useless and deadly enterprise that always produces tragic endings. The only winners in warfare are the big corporations that feed on building war machines. The men and women sent into battle are brainwashed into believing they are fighting to defend their homeland, which is a lie. If we stop warfare, and stop empire building around the world, America can balance its budget and reduce its massive deficit within a short time.

We need to put a moratorium on carbon emissions, build new high speed rail service to move people around so we can get all of those cars off the highways. We need to use the money we spend on war to repair and update our failing infrastructure, provide good health care for the people, and care for the homeless.

We need to start manufacturing products in the United States again, and our workers need to take pride in their work.

We need an international agreement by all nations to dismantle all nuclear weapons and other weapons of death and destruction.

America needs to be a leader in all of these things, and to rebuild the reputation it once enjoyed as a beacon to the rest of the world.

All of this should be easy to accomplish. And if we did it, the year 2013 would be a year the world will never forget. Unfortunately, if our leaders continue their old ways and refuse to change anything, the year 2013 will probably still be an unforgettable year, but for the wrong reasons.