This week, the Spirited Reasoner thought it might be fun to switch gears. Since today happens to be New Year’s Day 2022, how about we take advantage of the opportunity to dream big about the coming year! Looking back exactly one year, to January 1, 2021, who could have predicted all the crazy things that happened? So, instead of using our brains to reason toward logical predictions, how about we take a few moments to ponder how different life might be if some wonderfully unlikely events were to occur. Such as …

• After a religious conversion of sorts, the Republican National Committee admits that Joe Biden won the 2020 election fair and square, and that efforts to claim otherwise are seriously damaging to our constitutional framework. Republican leaders across the nation hail the announcement as “a breath of fresh air” and resolve to focus future efforts on winning votes at the ballot box rather than attempting to alter the arithmetic when it trends away from conservatism.
• At about the same time, the Democratic National Committee admits that Americans are fed up with national one-size-fits-all policies. Instead, governmental decisions should be left to state and local leaders to the greatest extent possible. Democratic leaders across the nation hail the announcement as “a breath of fresh air” and resolve to focus future efforts on winning local races and trusting local decision-makers rather than attempting to change Americans’ lifestyles from the top down.
• After a dinner at the White House attended by top Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate, the press is invited to a news conference, during which President Biden and the Democratic leaders say nice things about the Republicans, after which the Republican leaders say nice things about the Democrats.
• Donald Trump tweets a message to his followers stating that he’s met not only with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi but also with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and has decided to stop making nasty comments about them. “I don’t agree with their policies,” he writes, “but this is a nation that values political debate and dissent. It’s high time we all learned to disagree without being disagreeable.” In response, Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez issue a statement praising Mr. Trump’s statement and agreeing that we can best begin the process of healing our nation by focusing on issues rather than personalities.
• Scientists determine that international efforts to slow down climate change are beginning to work and that the world’s temperature has actually dropped one full degree.
• Researchers develop a new cure that addresses not only COVID-19, but all forms of Coronavirus. When asked for his comment about the new cure, Dr. Fauci states “It’s a miracle!”

I know what you’re thinking: Has the Spirited Reasoner lost his mind? My only response is that even Spirit Reasoners need a chance to dream from time to time.