Ending the Old Year

AS WE RAPIDLY APPROACH THE END of the year, what was the most important event? The advent of Obamacare, and its disastrous beginning? Edward Snowden, traitorously showing the secret American government to the American people, or the inability of Obama and Congress to work together to get anything at all accomplished? Or was the advent of the new pope the year's most important event? Or the popular uprising in Kiev perhaps? The most important event of the year was probably the publication in some obscure academic journal an idea to save the planet, which will gain great attention later. WE approach the new year with the world divided into sovereign nation-states, aligned against each other in ways and for reasons which, to any thinking person, seems idiotic. Militarism and war are prevalent. Its always been that way, but there may come a glorious future time when nation-states are replaced by a universal siblinghood of humanity. For the time being, the United States continues to exercise unchallenged global hegemony, which makes American citizenship a prize of potential particular value. Beginning in the year 2014, all people should refuse military service. As an American citizen, I figure I can try to help my country behave sanely in the near future. At least, I hope I can. Surely to goodness we the peace loving citizens of the world can somehow persuade our governments to be less militaristic, less aggressive. As we enter the new year, the world needs to turn up the pressure for a peaceful settlement to the civil war in syria, and the world needs to turn up the pressure for the elimination of all nuclear weapons, not just those which may be or are owned by North Korea and Iran. The world is fortunate to have survived another year, in our troubled modern times. But we the members of the human race have more work to do than ever in order to continue surviving. People of the world unite! We have only our problems to solve!