The miners climbing out of the rescue capsule, one by one, and emerging back into the world of light and joy – that’s my favorite image of 2010. This resurrection event last October brought out the best, not only in Chileans, but in the people of the world who helped or just rejoiced with the men and their families.
Other events on my 2010 hit parade include the new health care legislation that will provide insurance for some 30 million Americans up to now excluded. I also welcome the demise of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell; gay and lesbian members of the armed forces will no longer subject to sexual discrimination.
The New Start treaty, just passed by the Senate, is one of the most positive events of the past year.
Despite its limits, our nation’s accord with Russia on the shrinking of our nuclear arsenal is indeed a welcome move toward lasting peace.
I think a statement of Pope Benedict may have desirable effects inside and outside of the Catholic Church, especially in places ravaged by AIDS. Benedict now calls the use of condoms morally less bad, in some limited circumstances, than unprotected sexual activity.
This carefully hedged statement would seem to go against his previous hard line, and that of his predecessors, which outlawed any use of condoms.
In the same interview with a German journalist, Benedict foresees the possible need for a pope to resign. That would occur when his health fails and he can no longer meet the demands of his office. At a time when so many older people suffer dementia, this recognition on the part of the current bishop of Rome looks like a desirable breakthrough.
With some hesitation, I also include among the memorable events of 2010 what Harvard and Google describe as “the largest data release in the history of the humanities.” This new technology makes it possible to trace words and phrases in the 5.2 million books thus far digitized. You can discover, for instance, how many more times the name Jimmy Carter has been used than has the name Marilyn Monroe.
On the negative side, we must note the failure of the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. It is heartbreaking to remember the buoyant photo that appeared when both sides agreed to discuss ways of breaking through the barriers to peace. It showed Barack Obama walking with Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel and Palestine leader Mahmond Abbas, along with the king of Jordan and the president of Egypt.
From the beginning, however, the pros said the agreement would never work, and they were proven right. Israeli intransigence on the settlements alone proved enough to sabotage any hope of progress. To me, this stands out as the saddest single non-event of the past year.
That no new progress has alleviated the condition of people in Haiti strikes me as truly lamentable. By now, one might have expected better but the cholera epidemic has made things even worse. Despite the efforts of relief workers and others, the country remains in a morass of suffering.
In our own country, the worsening gap between rich and poor continues to dishearten me. It got worse this holiday time, when Congress voted to continue the Bush tax cuts for the rich for another two years. For many Democrats, the agreement that made this extension possible tasted like a bitter pill but they had to swallow it if they wanted to preserve benefits for the unemployed and for others in need.
About WikiLeaks, my feelings are mixed. At the moment I am inclined to place this organization in both columns, good and bad. Though I think the U.S. government has made too much of the “data drop,” I feel no confidence in Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks master minder.
Bob Gates, the Secretary of Defense, puts it right as I see it. “Is this embarrassing? Yes. Is it awkward? Yes. Consequences for U.S. foreign policy? I think fairly modest.’’
About publishing the leaks, Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, goes further: “This coverage is not just something to defend as our constitutional right — it’s something to be celebrated as our obligation to the national good,” he says.
A different kind of negative for me came with the death of a highly valued mentor in the field of aging. Dr. Robert Butler was the country’s foremost gerontologist, the person who, in 1975, sparked the whole field with his book “Why Survive?” He then went on to found and direct the National Institute on Aging.
I will never forget my last sight of him as he walked down E. 86th street in Manhattan. He had just finished a week-long workshop for journalists, an event that allowed me to know him better. His death, some three weeks later, left me in mourning for a person of great stature in an area of growing importance for America.