Emad Barsoum writes: New Year... another New Hopes

By the end of each year, we wish and hope for a better one to come. We review the year that is coming to an end and look for the changes we could make to ameliorate our future and those we care for. If everyone strives to create a better future, the whole community will prosper, and a better society will exist.

The assumption here above applies solely to the matters that individuals have control on them. But how could we make a better year if the main determinants for happiness, prosperity and a better year to come is not in the individual’s hands? 

How could we deal with factors that are run and controlled by a government, those that can make or break our life? Then our hopes will vanish if we do not make drastic changes to all the inputs that cause our daily struggle with life and deter us from aspiring for a Happy New Year.

When we think about what changes we need to have to reach our wishful quality of life, we will find a long list of wishes, and even Santa cannot make it happen. Although we all accepted our destiny during this ending year and hardly survived inflation embedded within a recession yet, hope never fades.

However, we are no longer in our childhood of humanity, we are not sending letters of hope to Santa, but we are sending demands to have these changes for better years to come.

First, we need to have true democracy with true freedom of speech, establish laws and regulations to be applied and abided by all citizens, and not in favor of any group over the other. We demand a better-civilized health care system that retains our dignity and respects our humanity. To be treated by healthcare professionals as human beings, not as excess luggage of society or stray animals.

 We demand a government aware of the meaning of the social contract where they work for us. We must recover the economy and end this inflation and lower interest rates again to be able to live, not just to make a living. 

We need social justice, job protection, true equality in employment, and not an empty slogan where jobs are given based on competence, not race, accent, or ideology. 

We demand to regain our sense of security in the streets and in our homes and end the clear and present traffic violations and road rage.

Nevertheless, we hope that our demands will be a reality in this new year, not just hopes till another year goes by, and carry them year after year until they become hopeless hopes.

The people of this great nation deserve all their demands to be met, our country is built and still being built by the sacrifices of all those who immigrated to the new world over three hundred years ago, and up till now, every new generation adds value and power to the nation. The least they should get is a proper life as promised by the government. But the only way to realize the demands and make all hopes come true is by changing an inefficient or aging government on both levels, Provincial and Federal.

Still, our hopes are high for a happy change and A Happy New Year.