Top Ten Wishes for 2021?

This kind of exercise is always dangerous. On the one hand, you can simply reveal that you are in favour of motherhood and apple pie. On the other hand, you can just be revealing your own private obessions. It can also look as if you are trying to preach to people (and I dread people preaching to me!). For better or worse, however, I thought it might be useful to get my ranked top 10 out there, to see if they chimed with other people's ideas. So apologies, in advance, for any omissions and/or ambiguities, that might irritate people. My Top Ten are :- 1. For all governments and people to take their roles in ameliorating the effects of climate change seriously (and not to just talk about it and make 'promises'); 2. For all governments and people to take responsibility for how their activities impact on the integrity of ecological systems and biodiversity. These also determine the health and viability of the planet; 3. Put into place mechanisms for monitoring emerging viral zoonoses (of which, Covid-19 is one of the latest) and to organise science, so that it minimises their effects; 4. To stop ignoring other diseases (such as malaria) simply because the economics of finding 'cures' are less rewarding; 5. To recognise that mental health is a relatively neglected area, in terms of medical and social provisions; 6. To provide real and effective education for all in a genuinely enlightened fashion. This must recognise that there are different skill sets and one should reduce the tendency to simply end up with 'winners' and 'losers'; 7. To use the internet properly, so that it is used to enlighten (rather than just drive commercial interests) and to make links between people. This would mean removing craziness and abuse from social media sites; 8. Make the world (I know it's Utopian) a fairer place, in terms of giving opportunities and appropriate economic rewards. The world is greatly unbalanced, by having billionaires and oligarchs, alongside the poorer multitudes, many of whom live in genuine poverty; 9. To stop the tendency (by politicians, social media, some religious folk and newspapers) to divide people into opposing factions, who can see no merits in (or even dehumanise) their 'opponents' and 10. To recognise that 'no man (or woman) is an island'. We are all on this planet together at this time (actually a bigger throng, than that that has been here cumulatively, for the whole of recorded history!). What we do, has repercussions. So, let's try, where we can, to do positive good. Merry Christmas.