2021 – My Seventy Year Old Eyes

YOU, who are reading this, are My IN Persons of the Year! Thank you for putting up with my Rants!

Sorry to start you off with some sad news: Davos has been cancelled this year due to the Virus! Oh, no! Where, oh where will all those Davos Denizens schmooze and conspire on how to amass more wealth and hide it – as revealed by the Panama Papers – in places such as Paradise Island, South Dakota and who knows where else? THEY are so OUT! YOU, the people of Chile who elected for President Gabriel Boric, a 35 year old student activist, are so, so IN! It is time for ALL fossilized politicians repeating the same old tired mantras while holding onto their corrupt fiefdoms to get out of the way and make space for new, young blood to steer this sad world, and, as long as they are not corrupt and taking care of their citizens, I don’t care whether you label them Communists, Socialists, Progressives, Democrats, or Whatever!

THEY, who picked Elon Musk as Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, lost a little bit more of their already low credibility! THEY, as well as those who pick Miss Universe, Nobel Peace Prizes (which, save for Tutu and a few others were inane choices) and all other such politicized titles are OUT!

YOU: Chris Wallace (now joining CNN) and a perfect gentleman for sure, and before you Shepard Smith (now on CNBC) who is a most charming and original fellow, get the Medal of Integrity! You are so IN! FOX News, Rupert Murdoch and his minions, Koch Brothers and some of the pathetic hosts on FOX are way, way OUT! THEY are the Epitome of Opportunism, Greed and Hypocrisy! They are proving that Presidents Putin and Xi don’t need to lift a finger in order to hurt the US, because they are doing it for them!

YOU, BBC News, Democracy Now and NPR with your various programs and excellent anchors, journalists and hosts are way, way IN! All of you know the domestic and international issues, you have the guts, you can be upbeat and jovial when called for and serious when necessary! You have plenty of class, maturity and balance! THEY, most of the Television Hosts and Hostesses of America’s programs on the various channels are really OUT for being mostly gossipy yentas and sensationalist drama Kings and Queens! Grow up, please!

YOU, Bernie Sanders, my hero forever, and the Wonderful Members of the Squad are so, so IN! YOU are the best! THEY, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are so transparently beholden to the corporations padding their wallets while making hollow, opportunistic justifications for not signing onto the BBB (Build Back Better) legislation are OUT! Pinocchio would be ashamed of you!

THEY, who say that some in the Democratic Party have “Gone Too Far Left” are OUT! You know why? Because the ONLY reason they are saying this is not to incur the wrath of Runaway Capitalism! YOU, whom they label “On The Far Left” are only asking for what is Standard in Other Capitalist Democracies that uphold People’s dignity and sense of security. YOU are so, so IN! Stick to your guns, and don’t let Labels like “Socialism” and “Radical Left” worry you! They are nothing but a Pathetic Intimidating Slur!

Listen, I am not an Economist – or any “ist” for that matter – however, I would really, really like someone to convince me that “Inflation” is NOT Corporate Greed. After all, America’s Corporations have been raking in Billions and Gazillions over the past several decades; they have paid their CEOs and Top Managers tremendous salaries while not raising employee minimum wages; they have voodoo accountants who know how to finagle the numbers so that many of them pay less taxes than their minimum wage employees. Therefore, does Anyone want to tell me that they cannot Temporarily eat several months of losses by keeping their prices down and not causing financial stress on the People? Stock Market would collapse? Financial Markets would go berserk? Product Shortages, Supply Chains, Virus Issues are only excuses! Come on now! Come on! THEY are OUT! Unions and People are IN, especially when their minimum wage is raised, and inflation hits them in the face!!!

Let me add this: Joe Biden was Not my choice, though I ended up voting for him since the alternative was dangerous! I always said that he supported every one of our pathetic wars and losing adventures all over this world; that he was a corporatist; that he was one of those hybrid Democrats who is a Conservative at heart. However, people Do Evolve, and I would like those talk show hosts, pundits, pollsters (who believes their skewed results anyway?) and experts to shut the ef up and stop finding fault with him at every turn! Just zip it! This President has arrived to an absolutely ripped and torn apart nation ailing from a virulent virus gone amok and people who do not want to take the vaccine. What is he supposed to do with them? Jail them? Really? To boot, the economy was going down the tubes; a level of misbehavior, rudeness, vulgarity and criminality among some in the population such as has never been seen in this country; a world in total disarray and shifting alliances where the US is no more viewed with either trust or reliability; an unending war in Afghanistan (and all those other places some of which we know, many we do not); conspiracy theories and lies becoming facts as the naive sheep were being willingly led over the cliff; a criminal discrepancy between the Haves and the Have Nots; a nation that is having hysteria and a humongous nervous breakdown. There’s probably more than all that too! So, while I am Not defending Biden, or this Administration, because I am sure that by the time their four year term comes about I will have plenty to say, however, One Year into this Presidency ALL of you out there in front of our faces day and night mouthing off shut the ef up! At this specific time when the country and the world are falling apart, Biden and his Cabinet are doing as decent a job as possible against all those odds! So zip it, and maybe you could find ways of mouthing off that would bring this nation together, heal it, repair it, put it together again rather than continuing to cater to the lowest common denominator! YOU are so exasperating and OUT!

Lastly, to all First Responders – because you are all IN – whether you are in hospitals, pharmacies, fire stations, police stations, driving vans and delivery trucks, construction workers, teachers, making and serving food, working in our grocery stores, picking up our rubbish, reaping and packaging our produce, scientists working to find vaccines and cures in our labs, those tolling the bells for averting climate catastrophes, brave and moral journalists and writers, whistleblowers and all those other seen and unseen humans, visible or not, that keep this Democracy working may you have a Safe, Healthy and Gratifying New Year, and Thank You for all you do . . .

. . . and for the rest of Humanity: May 2022 bring all of us Peace, Justice, Equality, Safety, Compassion, Kindness and Sanity!

. . . is not what Mariah Carey’s lovely words exactly mean as she sings: All I Want For Christmas Is You. In my case, and at this ripe old age of mine, the You are my Children and my Grandchildren, as well as All Children on this sorry Planet of ours! However, I totally agree when she says:

I don’t want a lot for Christmas

There is just one thing I need

I don’t care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree

I just want . . .

And what I really, really want – and, do forgive my constantly repeating this – is a more Peaceful, Kind, Compassionate and Honest World with Equality and Justice For ALL! Too Idealistic? Impossible? Won’t Ever Happen? Why the hell not? How difficult could it be for us, humans, to Evolve for Heaven’s sake, because I am so done with Cruelty in any of its forms!?

And, yes, I also echo Mariah’s wish that I want these above stated Vital Values:

More than you could ever know

And, please:

Make my wish come true

I doubt that I am the only one hoping for this, because I know that the Majority of Humans in this world want that also. It’s just that there is a Minority of Extremists that we can find in their malevolent pockets all around the world whether they are in Leadership positions, Gangs, Criminals of every kind you can think of, or the Sheep that follow them, who are causing this chaos, anxiety and turbulence on our Planet. And, yes, of course, there is also this Virus running around, so far unabated, mainly due to Ignorance, as well as various other reasons, but, mostly due to outright Despicable Opportunism by Deplorable, Selfish and Ignorant Leaders. Quite Tragic, to say the least, especially these days with Alliances and Nations shifting, realigning, reconfiguring and readjusting to all the political turbulence and corruption, as well as to the soulless religions that are behaving more like disgusting political parties; as friends become enemies and once sworn enemies become friends in such a fluid atmosphere that I hold my breath at how precariously our world seems to be functioning! Phew! What a boiling, dangerous cauldron we are in!

Mariah Carey and all Christmas Songs and Carols also make me nostalgic for Jerusalem, my place of birth, and the tormented city that it has historically been, and still is; for Cairo, our first Exile Stop after 1948 and our beautiful Christmas Holidays there; for Amman, our Second Exile Spot and where I grew, learned and met classmates some of whom have remained my dear friends up till now; for Beirut, especially after I had my own children and what a big To-Do I made of Christmas and Santa for them; for my five on and off years in London where we took refuge after Lebanon’s devastating Civil (Uncivil!) War and still managed, despite our trauma, to celebrate for our children’s well-being and sense of continuity; and now for all those forty years during which we have been in Virginia, which is more years than I have lived anywhere else. My history, with all that it entailed of the good, the bad and the ugly is what makes me all the more anxious and fearful for this country, and for as long as there are people within, and without these United States conniving to bring down this Democracy and rendering it a Failed Experiment, my worries will not abate, even though I have my misgivings and grave criticisms for much in our system. However, neither should Anyone Else – not on the Left, Right, or Middle – abate their worries despite any hesitancy they may have regarding our system of governance, because unless we all seriously resist these appalling efforts in any way that we are capable of then we are inviting Dark Days ahead. Very Dark indeed! So, I quote our DHS (Department of Homeland Security): If you see something, say something! And, overall, we should all just speak up to our families, our neighbors, our friends, on our social media platforms etc. and voice our concerns regarding our country. It takes a collective effort!

I remember my wonderful maternal Grandmother who believed in the Evil Eye, and who, anytime someone visited whom she thought was envious, or had any shred of malevolence, would try to ward off that negativity by generously sprinkling salt on the hot coals that she used for her argilleh (water pipe), and, as soon as she heard the salt granules cracking and hissing she sighed with relief that the evil had been dispelled! I wished today that I could believe that and believe that I could dispel the Evil Eyes and Intentions of all those wishing to harm this country, or Any country! Enough of Evil Doings, Thoughts and Actions! Enough!

. . . . . .

On December 8th. we were Remembering John Lennon who was assassinated in 1980 – Forty One Years Ago. I clearly remember what a sad day that was for me! Today, I recalled his terrific song, my Mother’s favorite, and one that I had written about in a previous post: Happy Xmas (War Is Over). It is as Timely, Heartfelt, and Genuine today – if not even more! – as it was when John Lennon first introduced us to it. Simply Incredibly Sad that we are still living in Fear and in War . . . and it doesn’t look like there is an Exit anytime soon. What is it going to take? So, as I pull up my tissue paper, because I sniffle and cry every single time I listen to this song, here it is: