May this be a new year

Firstly, I want to wish you all the happiest of times in the coming year. May you be blessed with good health, contentment, success, peace, acceptance, and love. I hope you don't just have a wonderful year ahead, but make it so for others as well.

A new year... I was always thrown off by the change in the dates... now we're in 2009, not eight, it'll probably take me until February to remember to write it correctly.

This new year, however, I'm surprised at myself. I'm actually waiting- waiting for so many events and occasions- almost all of them a continuation of the previous year, of course.

The US will get a new president, one whom the entire world seems to be pinning their hopes on, poor guy. It's ironic that almost the entire world was hoping this guy would win- including himself, I'm sure, and now that he has, he has to stop the same world from annihilating itself, which is also something it seems hell bent on doing. I wonder if he can make some sense out of all that's happening though, because if not, we'll be in it for the very long haul. He doesn't have a magic wand, though, and we'll all have to pull our own weight if we want to hear any good news before the end of this year.

The one question is, whether or not we'll be able to prevent a full scale world war... or is that a matter of perspective, I wonder, since there are various degrees of war already happening in different parts of Africa, the middle east, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh?

There's also the economic slowdown. Well, it's a slowdown here, in the west it's more like recession, really

I wonder if Roger Federer will win back his No. 1 position on the ATP rankings, or if Rafael Nadal will manage to hold him off again. I personally want Roger to win all the four slams this year- not that I don't like Rafa, because truth be told I can never decide who I'm supporting when they're having it off against each other- it's actually pretty torturous, being forced to watch as a neutral party just because I cannot decide who I like more. I just think that Rafa won Wimbledon last year, so Roger should win at Roland Garros in 2009. He (rafa) just lost his quarter final match to Gaël Monfils of France at the Qatar Open, by the way.

Then there's cricket! I'm pretty sure Australia will not continue to be the world champs this year as well. I'm not feeling particularly vindictive about it, though- what do you expect if all the best players on this planet, who just happened to be on that team, suddenly retire en masse? It's bound to happen, but I'm glad to see that there is more than one team willing to slug it out for the top spot- and in all three forms of the game, no less. Yay for good cricket! :P Yayay for good cricket played by India! :D

The most important thing this year though, as opposed to all the previous ones, is that now we, the people, will have to stand up and be counted. We must now speak out, because as our carefully built worlds crumble around us, we have a choice to make. A choice that few have had to make before us, and one that will determine the course of our many races on this planet and in history. There are many questions that will be asked of us by those who inherit time from us. Who are we? Are we the people who stood by and watched as women were raped and children orphaned? Did we step up and protest while the poor and helpless became even poorer and more helpless as the wealthy became wealthier? Were we there to stop needless destruction of man, animal and planet? Did we put a stop to it? What did we do? It is time now to make our voices heard, for there will come a time not so far in the future when we will have to ask ourselves these questions.

There is something called the 'Responsibility to Protect', the intervention by external actors (preferably the international community through the UN) in a state that is unwilling or unable to prevent or stop genocide, massive killings and other massive human rights violations. The responsibility of a state to protect the citizens of another country, in case their own government cannot, or will not, do so. I believe that each of us has just such a responsibility towards every one else- If someone does not have food to eat, no matter where the live, then it is us that have failed our duty of care. It is us. We are responsible, for the simple reason that we can think and feel, and because we have knowledge of exactly what is happening in different parts of the world, now.

For years and years, humanity has been a silent sentinel to it's own destruction, whether it lie in religion, race or gender- whether it be in concentration camps, colonial fantasies or the lack of universal suffrage. Those who came before us have let it happen, and we have judged them harshly. It is time for us to right the wrongs- so today, and every day after today, ask yourself how did you help. Choose to be the person we need- choose to be courage, choose to be hope, choose to be truth, choose to be faith, choose to be charity, choose to be love, choose to be perseverance, choose to be tenacity, choose to be knowledge, choose to be thought. Choose to be the one who takes the next step forward into tomorrow. Choose to be action.

Be that change. Be that light.

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge - myth is more potent than history - dreams are more powerful than facts - hope always triumphs over experience - laughter is the cure for grief - love is stronger than death.”

- Robert Fulghum