Oh hey, 2019. I didn't see you there. I wasn't really expecting you to be up this early. Come sit with me (pats couch cushion).
Listen, I don't want to lay any heavy responsibility on you so early in the year, but we need to talk. No, no, don't get up. Please, stay and hear me out. It's important that you hear what I have to say.
Now, I understand that you are not responsible for the sins of the years that preceded you, but I do believe that you need to be cognizant of their missteps and mindful not to repeat their more problematic actions. Yes, yes, I understand that you had nothing to do with the events of the past, but their legacy is not good and I see this as your opportunity to prove that you are not all the same.
Let's start with 2018. I know that you two are close and I don't want to speak ill of the past, but, did you see the wave of amazing people that 2018 took? Anthony Bourdain? Aretha? Don't you think it was a little selfish to take so many talented people in one year? And 2018 took one of my own inner circle, far too soon. What the hell was that about? I can't get past the way that 2018 took from us. The greed is astounding. The last three years, in fact have allowed loss from attacks of hate and terror that never should have happened. Have these years no shame in their reckless permissiveness of hate and rage?
2019, you need to be the year that makes a shift away from hate, that stops freight train of negative emotion that is fueling our national discourse and making us mistrustful of others and of one another. It sits squarely on your shoulders to see that we make a move toward kindness, toward unity and toward inclusion. I know that it is a big responsibility, but I am confident that you can do it. My greatest New Year's wish is that you find the confidence in yourself to make it happen. Now go make me proud and if you find yourself having moments of doubt, just come sit with me again and I'll talk you through it. You can do it. Prove me right. Please?
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