2015: A YEAR OF CHALLENGES/OPTIMISM/RESOLVE

Here I am again with feelings of gratitude, hopefulness, frustration, righteous anger and sadness permeating my life as we begin 2015. The latter two have become more intense given the unjust killing of people of color by rogue police without consequences for their actions. These conflicting, yet, common emotions have also dogged me for the past 3 years as we've embarked on previous New Year celebrations and I had hoped for some reprieve from the most disparaging ones.  That doesn't seem to be the case with all the tumult in America and worldwide. As one of my favorite passages in the Tale of Two Cities cites:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way.

I've created a page for Black Lives Matter: A Movement for Justice and Reform to keep up with the freedom movements for justice and true equality and showcasing the great thinkers in the blogosphere/internet regarding politics, economics and social commentary and what we must do to maintain this momentum. A dominant Republican Congress is rather daunting given that when they were in the minority in the Senate and as of 2010 the majority in the House; there was an appalling record of do nothingness and oppositional stances towards the Obama Administration.  It's short of a miracle that he got anything done. I suspect the forecast is far dismal for the working and middle class of this country.  Environmental concerns, escalation of conflicts on a global scale and regressive policies on women's issues can be overwhelming for many of us. That adage hope springs eternal is sorely needed now.

There are sites like 'Good Black News"and others featured on this blog that I frequent to ascertain some balance.  Human beings are doing great things; technological discoveries are startling, medical breakthroughs are turning lethal diseases into chronic and less distressing maladies or actual cures. The stories of people going to extraordinary lengths to help others and promote their own growth abound.  A magnificent accompaniment to all of this is the creative nature of the Arts and for some the  participation in faith-related organizations that continue to sustain and nourish the soul for which I'm grateful.   Indeed!