What I’d Like To See In 2017

     I have just a quickie this morning, as I’ve got a ton of things to do – yes, on New Year’s Day – and can’t spare too much of the morning to this bloviational habit of mine.

     Here are my top ten wishes for the New Year. (I don’t do resolutions; I do wishes. They’re easier to shrug off when they fail to come true.) Mind you, these aren’t things I expect to see. They’re just some offhand wishes for my country and my fellow citizens. If even one of them were to come true, I’d be one of the happiest Americans on Earth...or off it, for that matter.

     First, I think it’s high time we removed the United States from the United Nations and removed the United Nations from its perch on the East River. The UN has turned into something malign, from which no good has come for many years. Let’s anathematize that asylum and its inmates, defund it, and send it packing.

     Second, I’d like to see America begin its long-awaited retreat from its post-World War II “world policeman” duties. Our “supervision” of the rest of the world has cost us dearly, has permitted the enervation of the defensive capabilities of our “allies,” and has embroiled us in wars that, in retrospect, we’d have been better advised not to fight.

     Third, I profoundly hope that Donald J. Trump will defy all precedent and strive to make good on his campaign promises. I know I’m asking a lot here; the president-elect will face a bevy of hostile Establishmentarian forces that will do everything in their aggregate power to thwart him. However, Trump knows why he won, so there’s a good chance that he’ll at least try to make good on his pledges to the electorate. (Are you listening, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger?)

     Fourth, I’d purely love to see a massive rebirth of American Christianity: the real sort that does unto others as we’d have them do unto us, not the priggish bluenosed type that screams and points at the motes in others’ eyes while blithely ignoring the beams in its own. Think Gospel According to Matthew, chapter 19, verses 16 through 19. One of the reasons Christianity has had difficulties these past few decades is Christians’ tendency to execrate others’ harmless pleasures rather than concentrate on the love of God and neighbor and the cultivation of the seven virtues. Let’s get back in step with the Redeemer. (It’s His New Covenant after all, right?)

     Fifth, I desperately want celebrities of all sorts to take and keep a vow not to slather the rest of us with their sociopolitical opinions. Need I elaborate on this?

     Sixth, it’s time for what President Bush the Younger said we need: a true culture of life. We must celebrate and cherish human life at every stage, rather than arbitrarily excluding the unborn, the aged, and the terminally ill from our protection. As this can only come from a rebirth of Christian values, it’s unlikely unless wish #4 comes true, but it’s important enough to have its own entry.

     Seventh, have you had enough of the “identity” movement yet? I certainly have. It should recognize that its time on stage is up and retire. Not that that’s likely, of course.

     Eighth, along with the “identity” movement should go the “diversity and inclusion” nonsense, which has done our social cohesion a lot of harm. This, too, is unlikely, as the D&I types have profited immensely for their ideology merely by being troublesome. Damn it all, people have a right to freedom of association, whether it’s at home, in public, or in the workplace, whether they choose their associates by race, creed, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or common values or interests. (We also have a right to our own opinions, and that includes our opinions about race, creed, ethnicity, et cetera.) If there’s a way to make the D&I nonsense unprofitable, it will become unpopular and go away. We’d all enjoy the increment to social peace. Let’s work on it, shall we?

     Ninth, everyone in the United States should acquire a copy of Dale Carnegie’s invaluable little tome How To Win Friends and Influence People, read it obsessively and exclusively for two weeks, and vow sincerely to practice what it recommends. The Carnegie principles are simple, efficient, and beautiful. Their use almost automatically improves one’s life...and the lives of those around him.

     Tenth and last, I want another Stanley Cup for the New York Rangers. (I know, I know: Have another drink, Fran.)

     And what are your wishes for the New Year, Gentle Readers?