Since everyone else tends to make their New Year’s
Resolutions and voices their goals for the coming year on either New
Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, I thought I would buck the trend, being
the procrastinator I am, and post my goals for
the coming year on January 2. I will also share some of my hopes for
2014.
One of the hopes I have is that somehow, someway,
people – especially those holding elective office – can find some way to
return to some semblance of meaningful discussion and debate in 2014.
Facebook and Twitter, while great for keeping
in touch with family and long-lost friends and for spur of the moment
comments and conversations, seriously suck as platforms for intelligent
and meaningful discussion.
One line comments like “Obama is a socialist” or
“Bush was a war criminal” or “[insert favorite topic/group to hate] should rot
in Hell” do little to address issues facing our nation and the world as
a whole and do even less to kick-start any
meaningful conversation on said issues. One place to start this process
would be to realize, as Thomas Merton wrote, that “no man is an
island.” The actions of one city/state/nation do affect what happens in
another city/state/nation, even if indirectly.
Nature does not recognize lines drawn on a map, and
neither should we, at least not when it comes to environmental issues.
If nothing else, we have to recognize and accept that what we do today
will have an impact on tomorrow and that there
is no way of predicting every possible outcome, especially if we only consider the immediate and short-term benefits.
Do I expect to see the quality of discourse and the
level of civility reverse decades of decline in 2014? No, but a man can
dream.
Another hope I have for 2014 is that the debate
over gay marriage moves one step closer to being resolved once and for
all. I think the tide started to turn in 2013, and I personally hope the
momentum continues in the new year. I know there
are those who argue that allowing gays to marry is an attack on
traditional marriage and on traditional religious values, but I only see
an attack on discrimination. As a heterosexual who has been married for
20 years, I’ve never understood how allowing two
gay men or two gay women to marry threatened my marriage. There are
plenty of other things that could threaten my marriage first, second,
third, fourth, and so on, and gay marriage just doesn’t register on the
list of potential threats.
I also don’t understand the religious argument
against gay marriage. Some Christians say gay marriage goes against
their beliefs. I accept that. However, their beliefs are their beliefs,
not necessarily someone else’s. The Constitution
forbids the establishment of a national religion, and imposing the
beliefs of one group onto the nation as a whole goes against that. Of
course, there are those clever wits who argue that the reverse is
equally true. Not really. Whereas making the views of
some opposing gay marriage the law of the land prevents some loving
couples from marrying (much as earlier laws forbidding interracial
marriage did), allowing gay marriage does not force two people of the
same sex to marry one another.
To me, this is a Civil Rights fight, pure and
simple. Of course, nothing is ever pure and simple in a nation of so
many diverse peoples, cultures, and beliefs, so I expect this fight to
continue for at least another few years. However,
I think I will see gay marriage as legal in all 50 states in my
lifetime.
Now that I’ve dealt with a few “political” topics,
let me turn to some personal goals for 2014. In the coming year, I hope
to take further steps toward improving my health. For me, that means
continuing to improve the way I eat, lose some
more weight, and – here comes that dreaded word – exercise. I have a
few minor health issues to deal with first, namely some problems with my
left shoulder, but I plan to begin working on this as soon as the
doctors allow.
Even before the weather begins to warm, my mind is
turning to thought of taking out our fifth-wheel. 2013 was a bit of a
slow year for us in terms of getting out with the trailer, and my
shoulder will keep us from getting off to a quick
start with the RV in 2014. Still, I hope to improve on the number of
nights we went out with the trailer in 2013. We have one trip booked so
far and another one planned, so we are getting the ball rolling.
Going out with the RV allows me to do the only real
exercise I enjoy – hiking. I want to do more of that in 2014 and
perhaps find more hiking venues in and around Boise. Getting out of town
with the RV also gets me closer to nature and,
by extension, to God, and that is a good thing as it re-creates balance
in my life. Although pronounced “rek-ree-ay-shun ,” recreation can also
be seen as a re-creation of the self, and I certainly plan to approach
it that way every chance I get this year.
My third goal for 2014 is to do a better job of
staying in touch with friends and family. This blog gives me the
opportunity to share with them and anyone who happens upon these pages
what I’m thinking, feeling, and dealing with in-depth.
I will work to make better and greater use of it this year. Facebook
has been wonderful for helping me to reconnect with friends and family
and has allowed me to engage in the banter that used to take place
face-to-face. So I will continue to make use of that
technological outlet. Twitter, not so much. One look at this blog
should tell you that I would struggle with the 140-character limit on
tweets imposed by Twitter. Only simple statements can made in short,
simple sentences, and I don’t find those of much interest
in terms of carrying on a conversation or a relationship.
The third outlet for staying in touch with friends
and family comes courtesy of a cousin who, for several years, has
graciously opened his home each summer for several days to a gathering
of family and friends. My family and I have been
lucky enough to attend the last two years and hope to do so again this
year. Thanks, BJ!
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