Yes, I know, I am late. Well, not yet. Before writing this post, I read the one I posted last year, on December 31st 2007: Tall oaks from little acorns grow and nothing has really changed since then… I mentioned the plight in Darfur, Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, and several crisis (environment, food, economics…) threatening us. And I am afraid to see things didn’t changed, but some of them (should I say most of them?) even got worse. In October, in the post: Original Fake Kaws Cat Teeth Bank against global crisis I was sharing my feelings about the financial crisis we are facing and the consequences in the coming months. Although I am always a bit cynical, I was trying to play down the importance of the situation as our economy falters but it is getting harder each time to stay optimistic and only see the bright side of things. And again, I thought about all the efforts and all the hard work done by people who want to change things and even if it needs a lot of energy, time and money, people of good will should really inspire us and boost our motivation. If they believe, there is no reason we don’t.
The last weeks I have been very busy with the 60 Signers for the 60th Anniversary Initiative I launched in late November to support The Elders’ Every Human Has Rights Campaign for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. My humble contribution to an important event which, I think, should have had more exposure in the media. The art piece I created is being signed by people working for human rights organizations and I met some very interesting persons, committed and motivated. Until now I stayed out of the Presidents, Vice-presidents and Secretaries circles, most of the people I know who are working with organizations are aid workers and volunteers; a completely different world. In December 2007 I said sometimes the gap between the glamour of the style (I was referring to the involvement of George Clooney and Al Gore) and the hardness of the substance in the field can be baffling for some volunteers; I could say the same about some very comfortable places I recently visited for the signing. But again, we need people of good will, whether they work in the field or raise money or awareness.
So here we are -again-, only a few minutes left before 2009. As usual, I won’t go out and stay at home. Don’t worry, I do have a social life but I do my best to avoid crowded and noisy places, so tonight is the night I should definitely stay home. No champagne (a glass of Pomerol red wine or Asti Spumante would be fine) but a lot of fears and anxiety for next year. I have no idea how things will evolve, more than ever we need to consider the world we live in as a whole, and protect it from ourselves. Respect is essential and if you read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, then you realize 60 years later these basic rights and freedoms are still not respected. It is a shame. And again, call me naive but I really think tall oaks from little acorns grow and our awareness, our consciousness and our sense of community can change a lot more than we may think. I do my best to keep believing in the power of men and women of good will (and support them when I can) because if they were not there, things would be worse. In those times of crisis and doubts, we need to stick and work together. But as always, easier said than done. The dream for a more fair world I guess…
Once again, I would like to cite Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Either we learn to live together as brothers and sisters on this planet or we will perish together as fools.”. This is so right.
I wish to all of you a peaceful and healthy New Year! ^_^