Sweet and Sour
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As a child I loved Chinese food with sweet and sour sauce on BBQ ribs, chow mein, almost anything.
The combination of pineapple juice, cornstarch, rice vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup and brown sugar is both sweet and tangy. I was reminded of this sauce of contrasts as 2024 ended.
The year had plenty to be sour about. (I’ll get to the sweet in a moment, I promise.) The unrelenting Russian aggression in Ukraine. The unimaginable suffering of innocent civilians in Gaza, and of innocent, kidnapped Israeli hostages in tunnels beneath them. The rise of populist, authoritarian leaders around the world. The ever-accelerating climate change, and the failure of governments to stop the obvious impending disaster.
Last month, in Derailed, I wrote about Trump’s appointments of people who have promoted worthless treatments and vaccine misinformation, to head important health agencies. When people in positions of power act against scientific and medical evidence, the results can be disastrous.
The nominee to head the Department of Health spread falsehoods about vaccines supposedly causing autism. As I wrote in Derailed, vaccine misinformation is not innocent: it translates into infections like childhood encephalitis that result in mental retardation, wheelchairs, and deaths. He then promoted worthless hydroxychloroquine for Covid treatment. His latest stroke of genius? Threatening to downgrade preparedness for the next pandemic.
This would be worrisome enough even without the new threat of a highly contagious, H5N1 bird flu outbreak in humans. Yet the future Secretary of Health has said he would “give (studying) infectious disease a break for about eight years.”
Do we need to remind him that Covid killed 3 million people in 2020? Since then, the new virus of H5N1 bird flu has been slowly evolving to better infect humans and mammals. If it starts to spread widely it will continue to mutate. We hope for the best, but it could, potentially, become a pandemic more deadly than Covid-19. Brilliant timing, Mr. Kennedy.
We get “leaders” who are attracted to nonsense. Nothing impresses me more than the capacity of some people to ignore science. To our peril.
Sweet amidst the sour
Enough.
For there was brightness, too; sweetness to be found amidst the sour. After all, there is ketchup and sugar in the sweet and sour sauce recipe. The murderous dictator Hafez Assad was driven out; Syrian refugees, daring to hope, are returning home. It seemed unthinkable just months ago. And the rate of deforestation of the Amazon, while still critical, actually fell last year in Brazil and Colombia. World news is not all bad.
Those of us lucky enough to be living out of war zones, in countries with good medical care, safe drinking water, and decent governments, continued to enjoy the sweet among the sour.
Some of my own favourite moments of the past year:
The stunning sunsets over a northern lake in Ontario. The deep dark of a starry night. In the morning, the sight of bald eagles over the lake.
Photo: Peter Newman
Seeing a peaceful, sleeping baby on the shoulder of her mom or dad; the toddler on the sidewalk who looks up at you with total, wide-eyed innocence.
Hosting a traditional Passover Seder for family, linking thousands of years of history with the present, warm moment of closeness.
Health, wealth, and love… and the time to enjoy them
In Guanajuato, the small Mexican mountain city where I live part of the year—and described in Light and Colour, Mood and Mind—people often smile at strangers on the street, and give them friendly greetings. They also wish each other Salud, dinero, amor….y tiempo para disfrutarlos: Health, wealth, and love… and the time to enjoy them.
May we continue doing what we can to make the world a better place, in politics and in our own small ways, in our personal space. My own small personal projects? I’ll keep on writing. Reduce using plastics wherever possible. Along the beautiful trails where I love to hike in nature, I’ll continue picking up the trash discarded by others.
And not stop offering strangers a smile.
It won’t save the world, but it makes me feel good.
Do you have your own favourite moments? Or is there something you’re especially grateful for? I enjoy reading all your comments.
Wishing you health, prosperity, and love… and the time to enjoy them.
And peace.
Peter
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Peter, I believe that Thomas Paine had it right, "These are the times that try men's souls." And I believe your wish is right for all of us, "May we continue doing what we can to make the world a better place, in politics and in our own small ways, in our personal space." I don't believe hope, is a free floating emotion. I believe hope is the result of actions in the present that move the world to a better place in the future. Action as small as recognizing the smiles that come our way, and as big as any of us have the strength and interest to perform. Thanks for you post, it reminds me of these things, and I'm just repeating what you wrote.
Peter: I’ve been fortunate to have a life full of precious moments from living with a wonderful partner and family; to a more than fulfilling and challenging career; travel to many foreign lands and cultures; good health; cherished friends, (Sunday dinners at Lichee Gardens as a kid were an added bonus), etc. etc. It was the best of times. Unfortunately, when I look at the current situation: climate change; nuclear proliferation; AI; Elon Musk and Donald Trump; evolving new, dangerous viruses; uncontrolled threatening and disgusting comments on social media; populist, ultra right wing, racist political parties rising in most Western countries; etc. etc., I fear for the future of our planet and people. We were lucky enough to live in a golden age. Sorry for adding to the doom and gloom but you started it, Peter.