2022 WAS NOT ALL BAD

While historians may not rate the year 2022 in particularly positive terms, it seems to me that we can't end the "Year of the Tiger" remembering only the distressing events that took place during these past twelve months. There certainly remain a multitude of challenges worthy of analysis and discussion. They tend to pile up. However, they will keep for another time. A cursory search of the internet exposes a variety of entries specifically designed to publish the brighter side of news stories. Moreover, multiple diagnoses of international events will highlight silver linings to otherwise traumatic occurrences. Given the inflation induced economic hardship endured by many of our citizens, among the multiple points of light shining brightly in the face of so much suffering and discomfort for many stands out the recognition that overall charitable giving increased significantly this year. If the projection holds, total charitable giving in our country this year will exceed $500 billion. This is the 6th consecutive year over year increase. Our 1.7 million active nonprofits will continue to receive some of the necessary funding needed to do their work. It also seems appropriate to acknowledge that a number of the nation's billionaires, who routinely receive criticism from political operatives, are instrumental in supporting this fundraising effort. A few of the outstanding contributors in 2022 were: MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Jeff Besos, who announced donating $5.8 billion in grants to 500 different organizations; Warren Buffett, who annually contributes between $2 and $3 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock; and the Gates Foundation which committed $1.75 billion for pandemic relief. On a different scale, but contributing a significant effort to bring relief to troubled areas, we need to include Chef Jose Andres' "World Central Kitchen." This philanthropic organization raised $7.8 million for their efforts in Ukraine last year, and served upwards of 1.7 million meals a day. Another constant is "Rotary International," which spent $250 million on service projects around the world this year. These are just a few examples of organizations making a difference in 2022. Shifting to unintended consequences of adversarial situations: Russia's invasion of Ukraine may have initiated some significant movement on the climate change discussion. While cruel, traumatic and criminal, this inexcusable act of war resulted in changing the energy paradigm in multiple western nations. Countries which thus far largely relied on gas supplied by Russia began to wean themselves more aggressively from that energy source and ramped up their focus on renewables, powering a transition away from fossil fuels. In the midst of all of this, Ukraine inspired us all by showing that self determination and liberty are worth fighting for. Well deserved, its president, Volodemyr Zelensky, was selected Time magazine "Man of the Year." Ukraine was chosen the Economist's "Country of the Year." Politically, the extremes of far-right populism took a hit. Here, at home, almost all election deniers nominated by our previous president, lost. In the U.K. and France the radical right became the more moderate center. Except in Italy and Israel, centrist predominantly won their elections. In Canada, conversion therapy was officially banned. It became illegal to provide or promote services intended to change someone's sexual orientation or gender expression. The World Health Organization declared that the end of the first pandemic in a century is now "in sight." At a micro level, a selection of random positive or heart warming scraps of information might include: - Monarch butterflies returned to California. This year researchers counted nearly 250,000, up from just 2,000 in 2020. - Due to global conservation efforts, the once endangered humpback whale population rebounded from a low point of 10,000 to nearly 80,000. - In Las Vegas, a Burger King cook, who had never missed a day of work for 27 years, received over $270K in donations from a "Go Fund Me" account set up by his daughter. - In Burlington, North Carolina, in what amounted to an extreme palindrome, a baby boy was born on 2/22/22 at 2:20 am in labor and delivery room 2. Judah Grace made his astonished parents, Aberli and Hank Spear, very happy. - Maya Angelou became the first African American woman featured on a U.S. quarter. - Stephanie Frappart of France became the first female lead referee at a men's world cup match - officiating a game between Costa Rica and Germany. - For the first time three women were appointed to a Vatican committee advising Pope Francis on candidates for bishops in the Catholic Church. - "Dictionary.Com" announced its word of the year - it is: "Woman." And for anyone who feels the urge to communicate positive stories, I recommend you share your narrative on a website set up by the family of the late Captain Sir Tom Moore of Yorkshire, England, who, leading up to his 100th birthday, raised more than $20 million by walking across his garden 100 times. The website is: http://www.agiftofkindness.net, and is designed to offset much of the negative vibes emerging from the news these days. Have a marvelous 2023 - the "Year of the Rabbit."

TIME TO REFLECT

The end of the year 2022 is finally in sight. Many of us will heave a sigh of relief. This year has been consequential and memorable in many ways. It is customary that during this time of the year, when numerous holidays converge, we reflect on what got us here. We traditionally review what transpired during the past twelve months that we consider worth remembering. Although our memories of historic events, statistics, legislative transitions and cultural shifts are admittedly selective, it is worthwhile to identify some of these. While the impact of an inflation surge deserves to be mentioned as dominant for struggling families, the consequences of sweeping price increases resulted substantially from some of the preeminent events playing out across the globe. The Covid-19 pandemic remained the undercurrent in people's lives for much of the year. January saw a global roll-out of vaccines, the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and the reopening of international borders. By the end of that month 10 billion vaccinations had been administered. However, sadly, at that point more than 300 million people had already died from the disease world wide. Also in January, China, France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S.A., all permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, issued a rare statement that a nuclear war could not be won and must never be fought. A month later, on February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine. Putin subtly threatened the use of nuclear weapons, and ordered Russia's nuclear deterrent forces to be on "special alert." His invasion prompted the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II. By mid November, 15.7 million Ukrainians had been displaced. In addition, General Mark Milley, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, estimated that both sides had suffered more than 100,000 fatalities each. In the mean time, NATO invited Finland and Sweden to join the organization. Their membership application is being processed, while it announced the deployment of an additional 40,000 troops to its eastern flank. Among the prominent people we lost this year were: Queen Elizabeth II, Shinzo Abe, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jiang Zemin, and a significant number of entertainers like: Sidney Poitier, Olivia Newton John, Jean-Luc Godard, Angela Lansbury, Jerry Lee Lewis and Loretta Lynn. While in our country the political balance of power shifted slightly, a number of globally significant countries experienced a more significant ideological shift. Israel, Sweden and Italy elected far-right leaning political parties to run their government. In Brazil, right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro lost to left-wing populist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. In the U.K. the principle players kept shifting every few weeks. Boris Johnson resigned as Prime Minister on July 6; Liz Truss was appointed on September 6; Fifty days later, Ms. Truss was replaced by Rishi Sunak. Thus far, he remains in place. Finally, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, was elected to an unusual third term. And, not to forget, Queen Elizabeth's son Charles was officially proclaimed King Charles III of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Realms on September 10. A smattering of other notable events include: - The first successful heart transplant from a pig to a human patient took place in Baltimore, Maryland on January 7. The patient died two months later, but his death was not considered caused by organ rejection. - The International Panel on Climate Change concluded that many impacts are on the verge of becoming irreversible. - On May 6, the first Monkey Pox virus was detected in London, England. By the end of July the virus exceeded 17,000 in 75 countries. - The Ukrainian Folk-Rap group named "Kalush Orchestra" won the Eurovision song contest with the song "Stefania." - An earthquake between Pakistan and Afghanistan killed at least 1,163. - A heatwave across Europe in mid-June killed at least 20,000. - More than 42,000 Americans died from gun violence. - The world population reached 8 billion. - U.S. life expectancy dropped to 76. Culturally and politically our country still suffered from the consequences of the January 6, 2021 insurrection at our Capitol. The Select Committee investigating the attack is due to produce its final report by the end of this month. Our mid-term elections included significant participation by followers of ideas which essentially opposed our democratic traditions and values. Fortunately for the country, the majority of voters declined to support this movement. Unfortunately, prominent supporters of these anti-American ideas in support of this insurrection can't seem to stop their verbal assaults. It is not comforting or promising when the leader of this movement, who declared his candidacy for the job he lost in 2020, suggests that our Constitution ought to be suspended. Neither does it bode well when a prominent supporter claims that if she had been in charge of the insurrection it would have succeeded, because everyone would have been armed. These are not insignificant ideologues. These are major players, claiming significant political support from their political base. So, the end may be near for this year. However, there remains significant residual carry-over for 2023. Happy New Year!