When a new calendar begins, it is common to take stock of the year that is ending and set out some resolutions for the year, with thoughts and wonders about whether things will improve, especially concerning the big issues of war, conflict, peace, environment, and overall living conditions. Will we be better off in the coming year? Is the best we can do simply to hope and pray? Or can we more actively contribute to the change and betterment of things? Is it only the political leaders that are important, not even the symbolic kings and queens, opinion leaders and the media? Besides, must we always be so serious about thing, or can we have some fun, too? And can we admit that we don’t always have the right answers?
In today’s article I shall reflect on a few things which may seem less important, not quite in the first row. First, I shall draw attention to the fact that religious calendars are different from the secular ones. Then I shall touch upon how many years we human beings can expect to live, varying, of course, depending on where we live and how wealthy we are. In 2024, we all get one extra day, namely 29 February, since it is a leap year. And I shall draw attention to a few royals, who with little formal power still play a role even in our time.
Pak-Qatar aerial drill ‘Zilzal-II’ kicks off in Qatar In 2024, we must focus more on peace issues, indeed the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Palestine war, and wars and conflicts elsewhere. We will also have to reduce structural inequalities in all countries as we live in a time with inflation and high prices. I shall leave for another time to discuss that there are elections in 2024 in countries housing more than three billion of the world’s eight billion people, including in Pakistan, India, Taiwan and other big and small countries, and Bangladesh already held its elections last week.
In China, the country’s New Year is coming in a month’s time, with the 10th of February being the first day according to the Lunar Calendar. China has animal symbols for every year, twelve in all. A rabbit is the sign for 2023 and a dragon will be the sign for 2024. The New Year is also a spring holiday season.
Nowruz is traditionally considered the New Year and the beginning of spring in Afghanistan, marked on 21 March. Currently, the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan are against it being celebrated with excessive festivities. The public Nowruz holiday has been removed from the official calendar.
Commissioner directs to ensure smooth fertiliser supply among farmers In many ways, none of these things are really important. What is important, though, is that we divide our time on earth in certain intervals, from birth till death, or at least in adult age. The Bible says that 70 years is the common life expectancy of a human being and everything beyond that is a bonus. With the many advances in medicine, better nutrition and living conditions, many people live longer in our time. Researchers have begun studying if human beings can live several decades longer than till the late 80s and 90s as many do today. It is no longer science fiction to talk about a longer life for some, but I believe we should rather focus on improving the quality of life for the majority of people.
Let me move to the topic that a friend suggested I should reflect a bit on in today’s article, namely the news that Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, who is now 83 years, has decided to retire for health reasons, or abdicate, as the term is for royals. She has served as Denmark’s constitutional monarch and head of state for fifty two years since 14 January 1972, having inherited the throne from her father when she was 31 years. Her eldest son, Crown Prince Fredrik (55), will now inherit the throne and become King Fredrik X, and his wife, Crown Princess Mary, born in Tasmania in Australia, will become Queen Mary of Denmark.
2023’s tragedy True, the monarchy is a strange and anachronistic institution, and many would say outdated, because the post of head of state is inherited, not achieved through a democratic election. Yet, the royals somehow still seem to have a role to play, uniting people through their speeches and ceremonial functions. The Danish Queen Margrethe II has played an important role and has been liked by a clear majority of the people, according to opinion polls. Norwegian King Harald V, now 86, has become an important head of state, drawing attention to timely issues, as an elderly wiseman. He has stressed that he is the head of state for all, including immigrants and others who are not always part of mainstream society. In this year’s New Year’s speech he drew attention to the Sami people, the indigenous Norwegians, who have until recent years been forced to learning Norwegian language and culture. He said this went too far. A few years ago, he said in his famous summer speech that he wanted to be an all-inclusive king in other ways – for girls who like girls, boys who like boys, and girls and boys who like each other. And he wanted to be king for people who believe in God and others who do not, or they believe in ‘everything and nothing’, as he expressed it, using a Norwegian wordplay.
Smog savior In the United Kingdom, King Charles III ascended to the throne at 73 in 2022, after his mother Queen Elisabeth II passed away at the age of 96, having been head of state since 1952. She was also Pakistan’s Queen till 1956, and the symbolic head of state of a number of Commonwealth countries. The UK head of state is also head of the Church of England. But King Charles has said that he would have preferred to be head of faith rather than head of the faith, which would have been more in line with the multi-cultural and multi-religious UK of our time.
Let this be a small selection of some of the less important issues at the beginning of 2024. I would like to stress that we should not only talk about the most important things. We should also talk about the less important things. Besides, the small everyday issues are the big issues for most of us. Hopefully they are also pleasant to talk about, and that is also important to live a good life. Democratic participation must be pleasant and meaningful. We must have a feeling of doing good and right when we engage in all kinds of debates and causes, and that we must do, never be aloof and complacent.
Tech threats Atle Hetland
The writer is a senior Norwegian social scientist with experience from university, diplomacy and development aid. He can be reached at atlehetland@ yahoo.com
New Year with new and old issues
38
0
11.01.2024
When a new calendar begins, it is common to take stock of the year that is ending and set out some resolutions for the year, with thoughts and wonders about whether things will improve, especially concerning the big issues of war, conflict, peace, environment, and overall living conditions. Will we be better off in the coming year? Is the best we can do simply to hope and pray? Or can we more actively contribute to the change and betterment of things? Is it only the political leaders that are important, not even the symbolic kings and queens, opinion leaders and the media? Besides, must we always be so serious about thing, or can we have some fun, too? And can we admit that we don’t always have the right answers?
In today’s article I shall reflect on a few things which may seem less important, not quite in the first row. First, I shall draw attention to the fact that religious calendars are different from the secular ones. Then I shall touch upon how many years we human beings can expect to live, varying, of course, depending on where we live and how wealthy we are. In 2024, we all get one extra day, namely 29 February, since it is a leap year. And I shall draw attention to a few royals, who with little formal power still play a role even in our time.
Pak-Qatar aerial drill ‘Zilzal-II’ kicks off in Qatar In 2024, we must focus more on peace issues, indeed the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Palestine war, and wars and conflicts elsewhere. We will also have to reduce structural inequalities in all countries as we live in a time with inflation and high prices. I shall leave for another time to discuss that there are elections........
© The Nation
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Mort Laitner
Rami G Khouri
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
