Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Looking Towards 2007

I'm one of those people who makes resolutions each year. I also make predictions of things that might happen during the coming year. At the end of each year, I compare my resolutions and predictions to actual results to gauge my achievements and (often with fun) my ability to foresee the future. To me, 2006 has been an interesting year with some wins and some setbacks....like everyone else, I imagine.

As I look towards 2007, I pray that someone with common sense takes the reins in Washington. The endless war in Iraq goes on and on with no realistic plans and no possibility of a good outcome. As a Vietnam vet, I feel for the people on the ground. To me, they are being sacrificed in a fruitless attempt to salvage Bush's legacy (is that an oxymoron?). In Vietnam, we lost 1000's of young men while first Johnson and then Nixon sought "peace with honor." We all saw the final, inevitable outcome of that conflict. I wonder how the parents, wives and children of the dead feel about their needless sacrifice... Sorry, but as you get older, you tend to see things in a different perspective.

I also hope that we as a people find a way to feel good about our lives. We need to have national goals and programs that unite rather than divide us. We need leaders that focus on hope and what we can accomplish rather than name-callers and those vested solely in their own concerns. We need demonstrated competency, not more Katrina's.

And believe it or not, I'm neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I'm a registered Independent who remembers when the Constitution was respected and out country was admired around the world.

I urge you to take time out, clear your head, and jot down some personal and professional goals for next year. Then put them where you can't help but stumble across them every so often. Just having a visible reminder is an indicator of what we could be, of what each of us could achieve if only we applied our willpower and creativity. Think about it...and I promise to focus again on business in these communiques starting in January.

To each of you, I wish a very happy and prosperous 2007.