Relief, Resolutions and Hope

Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 01/01/2015 - 11:21

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit. Happy New Year! Another year over, a new one just begun. 2014 certainly didn’t turn like I expected. If you asked me a year ago if I was going to run again for office, I probably would have said no. If you asked me if various coworkers would have left, I probably would have said no. If you asked me if certain friends or relatives would have died, I probably would have said no. So, it is with a certain amount of relief that 2014 comes to an end.

Yet New Years is a social construct. January first for the western calendar, Rosh Hashanah for the Jewish calendar, the Lunar New Year in Asian countries, and I’m sure plenty others that I’m missing. In fact, every day can be a start of a new year.

Each new year starts with resolutions and hope. I was recently asked what I would do in the New Year by a friend and coworker who seemed to be expecting some large project. I had to admit, I don’t know. I have no idea what the New Year will bring.

I was tempted to say that this year, I will end racism, and if I have time left over, end the conflict in the Middle East and write the next Great American Novel. I probably have as much a chance of completing this as most people have of completing their New Years’ resolutions.

Yet these are good goal posts to aim for. No, I won’t end racism, but perhaps my words online can help people think a little more about systemic racism and how it gives certain people privileges over others. Perhaps my words can help people think about their biases and how it affects people around them.

Quick: You see a young black man cross the street in front of you one evening. What do you see? A future president? A future felon? A future victim of police brutality? Your neighbor?

Can my comments online lead towards greater inter-faith dialog? Greater understanding between different people? Sure, it won’t end the conflicts in the Middle East, but if my words affect your words and your words affect someone else’s words, maybe we can make a difference.

I guess, for me, I’m currently thinking about this year in terms of words. Perhaps I won’t write the Great American Novel, though I might take another crack at it. Perhaps writing more regularly in my blog, and reading from more diverse sources will help me in that direction.