Days’d and Confused

The first day of the year, when most of us are sleeping off a long night of too much food and probably a few drinks too many, has been declared Global Family Day.  Hey, sounds like a good idea.  The family is a complex yet fundamental institution in our society.  January 1 has also been the World Day of Peace since 1967.  You may have missed this most important event due to that same hangover that kept you from lovey-dovey cuddling on, oh yeah, New Year’s Day.

Let’s jump forward to International Customs Day (January 26). I wonder if that is “customs” like the agency responsible for collecting duties at the airport.  OK, probably not, but what exactly is this day for?  I think we need to clarify this day, after all there are plenty of customs that we may be better off without. Anyway, we have to get ourselves emotionally prepared for the next day - International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.  No matter how you cut it, the systematic murder of millions of people in the middle of Europe just 70 years ago cannot be brushed aside.

Just think about all those poor kids in the world living on the streets trying to survive from one day to the next, but save it for January 31: Street Children’s Day.  World Wetlands Day (February 2) is not merely a crazy environmental call for duck lovers.  Our wetlands are crucial for biodiversity and therefore for our own well-being.  February 3 seems to be free for the moment, but World Cancer Day rushes in on February 4.  We all have lost loved ones taken from us too soon by this relentless disease.  We have to do something about it.

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation – February 6.  World Day of the Sick – February 11.  Both extremely worthy causes.  Are you writing this all down?  Schedule in World Radio Day on February 13.  What?  World Day of Social Justice is on February 20.  Few issues have a greater impact than social justice, even though I have to say I am getting a little weary at this point and it is still the middle of February.  Deep breath.  Get a good night’s sleep and re-energize.

International Mother Language Day is celebrated on the following day.  I can probably manage to go to some kind of demonstration if I skip dinner with my family.  After all, it isn’t Global Family Day anyway.   At last we’ve made it to March which starts off with International Day for Ear and Hearing on the 3^rd. Are you ready for the International Women’s Day public reading event on March 8?   In your free time you can prepare a text to read between work, family, cooking, cleaning, shopping, studying, getting exercise and preparing for World Day of Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue and Film, which is a short three days away.  March 14 is a double whammy: International Day of Action for Rivers and, my favorite, Pi Day.  Before your mouth starts watering, no, it’s not Pie Day, but Pi Day.  Don’t ask.

I could go on. Heck, in October there are 34 International or World “Days”.  On March 20 alone there are five “days”.  I can’t take it.  I’m physically fatigued, emotionally emaciated, mentally muddled, spiritually spent.  I’m plumb tuckered out.  I am failing miserably as a citizen of our global village. I haven’t observed the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade since, uh, never.   I have a hard enough time getting from Monday to Tuesday, much less from World Hemophilia Day to International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.

The last thing I wish to do here is belittle any of these causes, concerns or commemorations.  I really believe that we have to remember our past and try, albeit imperfectly, to learn from it.  We must not forget the weak, the disabled, the less fortunate, the needy.  However, I ask you, sincerely, how can I dedicate the necessary time and energy to all these meaningful “days”?  Do I pick and choose?  Genital mutilation, yes.  Cancer, no.  Please, don’t make me do that.

If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll sit this one out.