Top 10 World Wish List for 2012

This list is nothing new and not something we don’t see on the news ad nauseum, but as I watch the stories, I can’t help but wish for the following:

10. The end to such enmity in the nation.  In a recent article on Meridian, the author referenced President Benson’s talk on pride. One of the biggest, if not the biggest, ingredient in pride is enmity towards others. I see so much enmity in our nation, political parties against each other to the point of irrationality, liberals against conservatives, rich against poor, and the list goes on. Each group holes up behind a wall of protection against the evils of the “other” neither willing to engage in common ground. Frankly, the enmity frightens me more than any outside force. There are ways to disagree without polarizing ourselves into “ites.”

9. An economic turnaround yes, but also a spiritual turnaround. As much as we need our finances fixed, we also need our spiritual meters fixed. I can’t believe what is acceptable in the entertainment industry and I’m shocked at what goes on among children as young as preschool. We need a spiritual compass back in our nation.

8. The end to Iran’s crazy regime, the security of North Africa and the Middle East countries still in turmoil and a major turnaround for the better in No. Korea.

7. The opening up of more nations to missionary work.

6. More personal responsibility on the part of everyone in the nation to engage in the world around us. We need to be more aware of what’s happening locally and globally. The latest entertainment news doesn’t count. We are quickly losing ground globally and need to take back our greatness. Maybe the resurgence of engagement in local affairs that the economic crisis has brought on will erase the apathy that prosperity often leads to

5. Along with number 6, an end to frivolous law suits. We certainly have a reputation overseas of being a litigious nation. I overheard a conversation in a restaurant in Kenya of a British lady talking about chains of her business she wanted to open. The U.S., though desirable, was off the list. Why? Because in her words, we are too litigious. When a guy sues a dry cleaner for misplacing his pants, we’re definitely on a down-hill slide. If that wasn’t enough of an indication, the man who tried to poison his kids’ Campbell’s soup so he could sue the company should be another clue that lawyering up isn’t serving anyone beyond the lawyer. I wish this would stop. Every time a frivolous lawsuit wins, we lose more freedoms and abdicate personal responsibility onto an increasing nanny state.

4. A major overhaul to the way we do health care. I don’t have all the answers, I’m certain all the lawsuits don’t help, but something has to be done to make healthcare affordable. We have amazing health care here but not if it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to get it. What needs to be done, I’m not sure anyone really knows because the issue has become too politically charged, but in a nation with such innovation, I find it hard to believe we can’t find a solution.

3. An end to government corruption in Africa. I wrote briefly about this in my post about the book, It’s Our Turn to Eat, but Africa doesn’t need foreign money, they need their government officials to stop embezzling their countries' resources to fund their personal accounts. We can't keep bailing out countries with such gross government corruption when we can't even pay our own debts. You can see my previous post for more details. This applies to government corruption everywhere, but I’m more familiar with Africa’s so that’s why I think of it first.

2. A return to the simpler joys of life: Less quantity and more quality.

1. More sleep for all us women and mothers out there. I think life would be all the better with a little more sleep under my belt each morning. As it is, life is pretty sweet but I can always hope and work for one that's even better.