Civil Beat is a local, online, investigative newspaper in Hawaii. My abbreviated response to a holiday article was emailed to Civil Beat on December 12, 2018 but Letters to the Editor were discontinued. Since it’s never too late to count our blessings and wish good will to all, read and be well.
Neal Milner’s “Hanukkah Wish List and Airing of Grievances” left me less than festive. I offer my version.
- I wish people were thankful for their incredible lives. I am.
- My daughters can aspire to be anything.
- We have accessible, clean water preventing cholera, polio, and hepatitis A. And I don’t have to walk miles to get it.
- MIT classes are free on YouTube.
- My family is safe from torture and rape because of our skin color, unlike white farmers in South Africa.
- I can go outside without being fully covered or accompanied by a man like in some Muslim countries.
- We have electricity and enough food, unlike North Korea.
- The government cannot put me in a concentration camp for my religion, unlike more than one million Muslims in China.
2. I wish people were better listeners. We can learn from each other.
3. I wish people read more.
4. I wish people would turn their time and attention from their devices toward their families.
5. I wish people made memories instead of selfies and high scores.
6. I wish kids would unplug, play outside, and make friends, creating rich memories of their youth to look back on.
Photo by Jude Beck on Unsplash
7. I wish men were appreciated for their contributions to the economy, their families, and national defense.
8. I wish you love, peace, and blessings all year round.
Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas, Civil Beat readers!
Thought Ripples by Wendi 