Like you, Slip, the fag end of the year inspires me to take stock of what has happened and to look ahead. Personally, I don't have the feeling you need to apologize to me for anything.
For me the past year has been ... challenging, containing as it did, a personal earthquake involving the traumatic and unexpected end of a relationship which had lasted almost a decade - and everything that that brought in its wake. But there's a German saying that that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger(!) and, as the new year approaches, I look forward with an inner attitude (mostly) of peace and serenity. The old year contained much that was difficult and stressful, but also had its share of beautiful and positive moments and experiences. On a worldwide scale, 2008 was, I believe, very significant. I have trained as an historian, among other things, and its a basic truism for historians that one should let at least 20 years elapse before making historical judgements on trends, patterns and structures of events. Nevertheless, I will venture out on a limb here and say claim that 2008 saw the end of an era of unquestioned triumphant globalised capitalism, whose beginning can be dated to November 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall (the collapse of the "socialist"/"communist" experiment). The financial crisis and ensuing recession/depression into which we are now heading will change the world in fundamental ways. There will be much suffering and many will die as a result (as always, the poorest of the poor worldwide, who do not have the personal resources and who live in societies where the resources are not - for manifold reasons - available to enable them to survive). There will be a reordering of economic power, with China (and perhaps India and Brazil) gaining and the USA losing comparatively. But there is also hope. The neo-liberal dogma that markets are best left to look after themselves with (to mangle metaphors) a benign invisible hand ensuring that continually rising tides lift all boats has taken a very hard - hopefully fatal - knock. It is serendipitous that the financial crisis/economic depression coincides with the end of the Bush administration. In the current chaos, there may be more willingness to try out new models and develop new paradigms of living with 6 billion + on our planet so that we don't screw things up completely for ourselves. Times of change are also times of opportunity and living in interesting times need not always be a curse. Obama won't build a New Jerusalem, but, maybe, some things might just get done a bit better. Francis On 29 Dez., 08:59, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: > Happy New Year to All of You!! > > It has been a fun ride here in Minds Eye. I hope the new year brings > more joy. > > Traditionally for me the end of the year is a time of reflection and > renewal and not a time of hoopla and revelry. I bury all hatchets and > close the book on the past. There may have been times that I have > offended some and for this I apologize. I'm not well versed in many > areas and subject matter but somehow jumped into the pool anyway just > for the sake of learning, for the imposition I also apologize. Thanks > for putting up with me! > Sincerely, > Slip > > What are all of you doing for New Years and what will you be focusing > on for next year? > > What are your thoughts about this past year? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
