THE NEW YEAR: 'RECESSION …
OPTIMISM'
[Het
Parool, The Netherlands]
Les Dernieres
Nouvelles d’Alsace, France
2010: Let Us Embrace the Dawn …
"Everything has been turned
upside down. And humanity has begun to reinvent itself."
By Olivier Picard
Translated By Mary Kenney
January 2, 2010
France - Les Derničres Nouvelles d'Alsace - Home Page (French)
It's the beginning of a new
decade, but also the true beginning of the millennium. The 20th century, after
all, didn't die until September 15, 2008, with the bankruptcy of Lehmann Brothers. The
gestation of the 21st didn't occur until 2009, with the awakening of a universal
ecological consciousness. Two years, two crises, two revolutions. Everything
has been turned upside down. And humanity has begun to reinvent itself.
To be sure, we must beware of
this very Western - or very French - allegorical vision, that would magnify a
romantic interpretation of the quite real acceleration of contemporary history.
After all, stock markets and international finance, euphoric as they are, are
also forgetful, and they have returned to the bad habit of resuming everything
"as before." As for the environmental emergency that now strikes us
as obvious, it's much more relative in the eyes of the Americans, Chinese,
Indians and so many other countries for whom economic growth, perhaps even
immediate survival, remains the top priority, "as before."
Prudence,
then. But a fundamental change has
been set in motion, and nothing seems able to stop it. The disappointment of
Copenhagen, which came after undoubtedly unrealistic expectations, mustn't make
us forget the real progress that the summit represents: for the first time, 194
countries have agreed to meet to evoke together the future of their common
planet. It is vague, it is clearly insufficient, and it's tragically slow. But
it is a first step which will lead to others, more and more rapid, like those
of a baby learning to walk.
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Les
Derničres Nouvelles d'Alsace:
The Men and the Mermaid
Gazeta, Russia:
2009: Another 'Chinese' Year
El Pais, Spain:
2009: The Year Earth Outgrew the Nation State
In regard to this fragile
process and its uncertain end, the important thing is faith. This faith in the
future is what we owe our children. It will be needed to prevent the folly of
man from leading the planet to perdition and to combat cynicism, discouragement
and fear. Because millennial fears about losing identity to the terror of
climatic apocalypse are certainly there, omnipresent in the mind and the debate.
Sometimes a tonic but often obscure, they are bad counselors when they inspire
mistrust, or even the rejection of all that is different, unknown or new.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
By listening to these fears,
one ends up forgetting that every beginning is a celebration. "Tomorrow"
remains a magnificent word, and every new second offers it to us. This morning,
this luxurious moment, there are 365 days that lie before us, enable us to give
it brilliance. Three hundred sixty-five dawns when this newspaper, a faithful
companion to our complicated daily lives, will be a reference point for clarifying
the apparent chaos of contradictions and certitudes, of hopes and disappointments,
enthusiasms and rages, and walls and horizons that will provide the backdrop for
2010. With care, beyond the inevitable disagreements and other irritations that
are the salt of life in any large family and to maintain this very precious thing
among us, which is so respectful and so beneficial: dialogue.
Happy New Year to all!
CLICK HERE FOR FRENCH VERSION
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US, Jan. 5,
9:29pm
