A Bright Glimmer

Many are very happy to see 2016 coming to an end. Without question, there were many significant dark moments in it. The fact that our planet continued to get warmer at a record pace was one of them. Sad to say, moving into 2017, that trajectory seems to continue to be on the upswing. Another negative trend this year was a steady decline in the quality of communication among public figures - persons who should definitely know better. Those in the media, for instance, know that for communication to be at its most effective, there must be respect, good manners, active listening, and a distinguishing between opinions and facts.

Again, sad to say, the trend in 2016 was a decline in those essential elements as we watched public figures time and again do a great disservice to the act of communicating. Instead of talking with, there seemed to a growing amount of talking at. Not good. The results are equally disturbing:  the general public has little faith in the media and the country seems more divided than ever. Is there something on the horizon that will turn all this around? As the old saying goes, "Is there a pony under the tree" that will motivate folks to reverse what we have been enduring for far too long?  I, for one, do not see one.

However, this is not to say I am not without hope. I say that because what hope I do have is based on the reality that when things hit rock-bottom, the trend of mankind is to seek-out a solution. People's track record of addressing all kinds of problems, many of which are of their own making. It is, one might say, the magic of us. We break things. And then we fix them. This past year communication has been like the favorable keepsake that was knocked onto the floor and shattered into hundreds of pieces. Perhaps in 2017 we will begin returning to facts, being more open-minded and identifying our commonalities than we have in the past and, as a result, finally begin communicating in ways that we should and need to.