Upon a birthday: if this life of ours
Be a good glad thing, why should
we make us merry
Because a year of it is gone? but Hope
Smiles from the threshold of the year
to come
Whispering 'It will be happier.'
--Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Happy birthday, kid. You're cute and everything, but you need to grow up. Fast. The world isn't new every morning like it is for fools and geese. And geese are only included in that phrase for color. Even geese learn to avoid traps.
The wolf is always at the door. So there is no time for pre-K, or even learning how to walk. You must start running. Today.
You're an election year, but not an Election Year. So there's good and bad here. Lil' 2022, you are an off-year election year, so at least you'll be spared a presidential campaign. But there will be so many ads for congressional seats that once again you'll have to hear the complaints about Dark Money taking over American politics. You won't be the first year for all this, so maybe you can learn from the past. Our advice: Ignore the noise as much as you can.
Anything could happen. Poor 2001 had no idea what awaited. Neither did 1941 or 1968. You'll notice that 2020 was given a bit of a heads-up, but not much. The virus is called covid-19 because it was discovered the year before. But even on Jan. 1, 2020, the poor guy had no idea what this thing would turn into. We all know now.
Your predecessor has given you some help. There are vaccines now. There are pills now. Thank the heavens and Big Pharma. But what this pandemic will look like in 12 months, kid, is anybody's guess. Could it be that it's not much of a topic? Or even better, one of those year-end Top 10 lists from The Associated Press in the last week of 2022 could feature the headline: "No. 1 News Story: an end to covid-19."
That would make you a very good year, indeed.
There are hot spots around the world--always have been, always will be. You never know where a war will pop up. Or explode up. No matter how much a country wants to avoid military action, the enemy always gets a say. And America has many enemies.
Speaking of terror, many Americans live with it. You don't have to leave the country to hear gunshots in the night. Crime is climbing, and not just in the big cities, but perhaps especially in the big cities. Little buddy, if you can figure that one out, you will be renowned among the years.
Speaking of spiking numbers, the national debt is still out of control and nobody in the political class seems to want to do anything about it, except maybe increase the numbers again and again. Where did the deficit/debt scolds go? Some of our friends in the media made a living the last four years by explaining all the falsehoods coming out of the White House, but have gone largely silent as the current administration tallies proposed new government programs by only including the first year of spending. Can we get some watchdogs that bark at both parties?
We have a friend who says if a government can keep spending this way without consequence, it will mark the first time in human history. Can somebody in Washington take their responsibilities seriously?
Speaking of serious, don't be so. While you're fixing politics, crime, the national debt, climate change, education, juvenile justice, immigration, health care, the newspaper business, housing, race relations, the president's poll numbers, and the anarcho-syndicalists recruiting our kids in college, take time to live a little. Kid, read a book.
Plant a garden. Join a fantasy league. Watch a ballgame--live in the stands this year. Spend too much on a vacation. Go on a picnic. Have a piece of cake for breakfast. Walk in the rain. Read the comics. Buy a card for somebody for no reason at all. Heck, write a thank-you note on real paper, and send it through the real mail. Be impressive!
The Good Book says nothing is guaranteed, certainly not the next 12 months. So, as an editor/friend once told his readers, don't jar the inner harmonies. Make it chocolate cake!
Sure, the world you've inherited is a dangerous one. Which is why we need the United States Marines, and bless them every one. And why we need a government that inspects meat plants and repairs highways.
But there is so much good awaiting. Funerals we'll always have with us. But let's concentrate on the births! There'll be many this year. Births of poets and doctors and good neighbors and starters of charities and innovators and teachers and future statesmen. We wish them all the health and happiness and opportunity to make the world a better place.
You'll see so many sunrises and sunsets, Lil' 2022. And snowfalls and summer rains and fishing trips and games of tag and dinners that can't really be completed because everybody is laughing at old stories. And how about a real miracle: A year of sports without controversy or conspiracies.
And speaking of the miraculous, you really are a cute baby. A gift from above. We hope you're mostly special and fun.
We'll help you here and there with unsolicited advice. Probably when you least expect or want it.
Now let's go.