My 2022 Wish List

Last year I posted my personal wish list for 2021.  I promised to let you know which of my wishes came true and to write another wish list for 2022.  Here's how my 2021 wish list turned out:

My biggest wish for 2021 was that COVID-19 would be brought under control around the world.  I also hoped that once that goal was achieved, more attention would be turned to the environment and combatting global warming. Well, we almost had COVID under control until the Omicron variant hit just before Christmas.  It is more transmissible, but not as severe.  More attention must be given to climate change in 2022.

I wished that Benjamin Netanyahu would be ousted from power in Israel..  That wish came true.  He is no longer the prime minister.  The current prime minister, Naftali Bennett, appears to be very right wing. However, at least there's a change, a fresh face.  We'll see what happens in the volatile Middle East.

I wrote that I didn't want a federal election in Canada during a pandemic.  We had one anyway.  The results were almost the same as the 2019 election.  The Liberals, under Justin Trudeau, retained their minority government status.  

I hoped that the Toronto Blue Jays would keep improving and that they would make some good moves over the winter.  I also hoped that at some point in 2021 that I would be able to able to attend a game at Rogers Centre.  The Blue Jays did indeed improve.  They finished the season with 91 wins, but it wasn't enough to earn a berth in the highly competitive American League East.  They had so much talent that it was heartbreaking that they just missed out on post-season play.  Nothing is guaranteed but they should

do really well next season.  Due to COVID-19, I did not attend a game at the Rogers Centre.

I hoped that the Toronto Maple Leafs would make the changes needed to compete, but I had no lofty expectations for them.  They didn't disappoint.  Due to the pandemic, all the Canadian teams played in the same division.  The Leafs finished atop their division and were clearly a superior team than the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs.  Everything went wrong.  Their captain, John Tavares was injured in the first game and the Leafs ultimately lost the series to the Habs.  Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner underperformed in the playoffs, as usual.

I wished the best for the Canadian Football League, which was forced to cancel its 2020 season due to COVID.  I truly hoped there would be a 2021 season.  Thankfully, there was a 2021 season, although it began late.  The Argos had a good season, but they were defeated In the Eastern Conference final  by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.  The Ti-Cats went on to lose the 108th Grey Cup game at their home stadium, Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.  The Cats lost a heartbreaker to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in overtime.

I hoped that Joe Biden would meet his destiny with honour and become a good president.  I hoped that he would restore the soul of America, as he has promised.  I wanted Donald Trump to be accountable for his crimes and for the damage he has done to American democracy.  If that meant going to prison, so be it.  No one is above the law.  

Unfortunately, Donald Trump has still not been held accountable, especially for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

As I do every year, I wished for more peace and harmony in the world.  There was no major war, but Russian President Vladimir Putin made rumblings about attacking Ukraine.

Here is my 2022 wish list:

Of course, I would really like COVID-19 to fade away like a bad dream.  The anti-vaxxers and the far right have been holding up progress,  We need to get as many people possible vaccinated around the world, especially in developing countries.

It is my hope that Doug Ford's Progressive? Conservatives lose the Ontario provincial election, on (or before) June 2, 2022.

I hope that Pope Francis will have a successful visit to Canada and that he will offer an apology to the Indigenous peoples for the Church's part in the tragedy of the residential schools.

Joe Biden did not deserve to have his approval rating plummet in 2021.  Remember that he came into office during a terrible pandemic.  He also had to clean up Donald Trump's mess. Of course, no president is above criticism, but here is list of some of Biden's most important accomplishments during his first year as president of the United States (Keep in mind that the Democrats only had a razor-thin majority in the Senate and that Biden was continually thwarted by the Republican and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema  He was dependent on Manchin's and Sinema's votes).

* Biden made sure that the United States rejoined the Paris Climate Accord, a voluntary agreement to reduce carbon emissions.  It is vital that the U.S. set an example to the rest of the world.

* Biden ended Trump's discriminatory Muslim ban.

* Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, to help speed up American's recovery from the ravages of COVID-19.

* Biden signed the Infrastructure and Jobs Acts, providing over $1.2 trillion in infrastructure to every American state.

My hope is that Biden's Build Back Better Act is passed in 2022, as well as the voter's rights act.   

For the sake of democracy, it is imperative that former president Donald Trump be held accountable for his alleged criminal actions and for his involvement in the January 6, 2001 attempt to overthrow the duly and legitimately elected government of the United State.   I will not say "lock him up."  That's Trump jargon.  I will only say that once he is found guilty in a criminal court of law, he should serve a prison sentence, just like any American citizen.  The rule of law matters.

I hope that the Democrats do well in the 2022 U.S. midterm elections in November.  I hope that Stacey Abrams becomes governor of Georgia and that Beto O'Rourke becomes governor of Texas.

I hope that the Toronto Blue Jays make the post-season  in 2022 and that the Toronto Maple Leafs finally get  past the first round of the playoffs.

I hope that whatever happens with regard to COVID-19, the world will take strong measures to protect our environment.

I wish for more peace and harmony in the world in 2022.

In January of, 2023, I will write another wish list and I will let you know if any of my 2022 wishes came true.

- Joanne