A New Year’s Wish For 2023

It would be naïve of me not to recognize that the world, our nation and our community face major challenges as we enter 2023. Some of the issues we will face must cause us to look inward to determine whether the courses of action taken in the past shouldn’t be seriously reviewed as to their effectiveness and adjust our course of actions accordingly.

Those great gifts bestowed upon us by brave and just men and women from the past can never be forgotten or taken lightly. We must come together as a world community and take the necessary steps to ensure we understand those great gifts and sacrifices and the value to mankind.

Nationally the people of this great nation have come to see a leadership void in the actions of those we have elected to do the people’s business. That void not only exists within 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but across the way under the Capitol Dome and across this great land in some cases. 

At the birth of this nation men put their names on a piece of parchment which essentially put a bounty on their head as they signed the Declaration of Independence. They did so with great hope and anticipation of a better life for the people who sought their independence.

It may well be time that the President, Vice President and each member of Congress be seated in one room and have that document read to them, for it is obvious that they haven’t read it and need to have someone explain it to them. They also need to have the names of each of the men and women who have given their lives in defense of our liberties read to them to remind them of the cost of our liberties.

At the same time they need to be reminded that they are there to do the peoples’ business. They are not there as a member of any political party or special interest group, they are simply Americans, sent there to do the will of the people and do the best they can for all the citizens of this nation. Gridlock, filibusters, blame games and pandering will no longer be tolerated. Neither will be cheating on your taxes, illegal use of drugs, adultery and the violations of the laws that govern the citizens of this great country that they sometimes feel they are above.

We cannot expect American Society to right a ship that has been listing for a number of years if those that govern us are not willing to abide by the same rules that apply to us. The days of a wink and a nod being given to those in power are done. We must all play under the same rules and maintain our high standards of values and morality.

If we don’t, we may suffer the fate President Abraham Lincoln once spoke about; “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we will have destroyed ourselves.”

At home we have our own set of challenges as we move into the next year. It was Thomas “Tip” O’Neil, a former Speaker of the House and flamboyant national political figure from Massachusetts who phrased it perfectly when he spoke about how best to keep a person’s perspective about their position; “Always take your job seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously.”

The challenges that face us, both on and off the island are substantial as we move forward. They will take some very serious study and discourse amongst councilors, school board members, commissioners, legislators and those we send to Washington.

Each and every one of our elected officials should be intelligent and well-studied men and women who bring their own unique perspective to each issue and deserve to be heard in a respectful manner, while minimizing the rhetoric, shortening the meetings and moving forward on each issue in a deliberate and effective manner. 

The decisions reached in 2023 will affect us ten years into the future, so a studied and professional approach to them has never been as important as it will be in these next twelve months. They can either represent the best Christmas present of the year, or a stocking full of coal……I’m rooting for a great Christmas and a wonderful New Year.