John Oyler: New Year musings
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Although it is still 2019 as I write this, we will be well into the new year by the time it is published.
Rather than focus on my New Year’s resolutions, this column will discuss our wish list for the new year and for the new decade. A good place to start is with the sorry state in which we find the world today.
The continuous conflicts everywhere are frightening, and one must hope that they can be resolved sooner rather than later. It appears that no part of the world is immune to this disease. It seems impossible to reverse the trend toward the splintering of multicultural nations into individual ethnic-centric countries.
My New Year’s wish is that we find a way to reconcile the desire for ethnic independence with the necessity for different societies to cooperate for the common good. We thought this was working with the European Union; Brexit is a blow to our optimism.
It is my opinion that extremism is the foundation for much of this problem, and it is as evident in our own country as it is elsewhere. My New Year’s wish for our country is that the moderates in both parties flex their muscles and work together for the common good. Let’s quit stalemating on controversial, unsolvable issues and concentrate on things like infrastructure, public transportation, the budget deficit, etc. –— things that everyone believes can be resolved rationally.
Closer to home, I have a number of wishes for our communities. They have managed to survive the transition from their coal mining/heavy industrial beginnings to today’s emphasis on technology, health care and education as well as most of their Allegheny County neighbors, and much better than some others. I hope they continue to focus on providing the amenities that make them the kind of hometowns we all want to live in.
The Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall is a perfect example of such an amenity. Their prolific schedule of musical, educational, and historical programs is a remarkable asset to this area. We also are fortunate to have Woodville Plantation in the heart of our region. Their year-round program of events is an equally valuable amenity. Last summer’s “Market Faire” was particularly impressive. I hope they will be able to expand their already impressive program/event schedule even further.
I also hope to see the Bridgeville Area Historical Society continue to grow and prosper in the New Year, and hope the informal cooperative effort by the Collier Historical Society and Pioneers West, the caretakers of the Walker-Ewing Log House, can exploit its unique potential.
As far as I am concerned, I am selfish enough to hope for continued good health for myself and for improved health for several members of my extended family currently having difficulties. I’d like to be able to spend a lot of time with my family and with my friends, especially the Octogenarian Brunch Club. Throw in a dozen Pittsburgh Symphony concerts, a handful of operas, and continued informal involvement with the civil engineers at Pitt, if I may be greedy.
As for our readers, my wish is that Trib Total Media continues to allow us to produce this column each week and that it provides enjoyment to you.