One should be optimistic at the beginning of a new year. Turning the page and all that. Optimism is expected to bubble to the surface. Hmm, I find there is little optimism, however, in this household. Then, again, as I repeatedly say, I’m Irish, and we have a permanent cloud following us. So, I’m sitting here noticing the news items that cross my attention with increasing despair.

This past year was another scorcher. Experts say that higher ocean temps suggest little change going forward. In fact, we might well pass the 2.7 Farenheit degree threshold (an increase above the pre-industrial global levels we are about to cross) that marks a tipping point on the way to climactic disaster. Oh, that’s something to look forward to … drought and starvation and massive migration culminating in societal collapse. You know, the end of civilization as we know it. How much fun will that be.

There also was a letter to the editors in a Wisconsin newspaper referencing the fact that vaccinations against childhood diseases were in decline. The writer noted how prevalent rubella, measles, and whooping cough were in her childhood. There was even the occasional kid who wound up in an iron lung with polio. Science came along and relegated these childhood scourges to the dustbin of history. Now, political fear mongering is relegating science to the same fate. In climate change, we ignore science. In the battle against biological pathologies, we repudiate it. Good going! Well, killing off our children will help deal with the overpopulation problem. There is that.

Then I notice yet another piece about how far ahead Trump is in the Iowa caucuses. I can only shake my head. It is one thing to be conservative. It is quite another to support a pathological narcissist who has no interest in governing at all, whose only interest is in promoting his own warped brand of ego gratification. Moreover, he does promise to destroy the pillars of our constitutional government in order to wreak vengeance on his enemies, real and imagined, usually those who believe in preserving radical traditions like fair elections and the rule of law. So, if you hate the American experiment, there is that. And this says nothing about his myriad of crimes and disgusting personal habits. What has happened to decency in this country? What has happened to basic common sense? When did America wake up and decide it wants to become a banana republic or worse … a totolitarian regime run by a mad man?

And then I noticed a piece on India. I spent two years there in the late 1960s and watched as they struggled to realize Gandhi’s dream of an inclusive and secular society. It was a vision carried on by the ruling Congress Party in his name. Now, P.M. Modi and the BJP party are running things. They, like the Trump MAGA crowd, feed on tribal passions to pit one group against the other. They want this vast subcontinent to turn its back on inclusivity to become a Hindu national preserve. It is another form of nativism much like our white, religious evangelicals. The article went on to note that the man who murdered Mohandas Gandhi (who was a virtual saint to the Western world) is now being revered while the Mahatma is reviled as a secularist who sought peace among all communities. Imagine that … promoting nonviolence in the cause of love and understanding. How vile is that? But this tragedy does remind me that imbecility is not found only in America. You can go anywhere and find it.

Yes, cursory glances through the headlines these days are not for the weak of heart. It is a damn good thing that I don’t follow the advice of the NRA and stockpile an arsenal of military grade weapons in my house. I might get so depressed as to pick one up and blow my own brains out.

Sigh!