I'VE never been a big fan of Christmas.
The materialism, the same 10 songs sung over and over again, and the warped sense of obligation all conspire to annoy me. It is, like the late Christopher Hitchens memorably said, like living in a one-party state.
But this year I tried to dial back my Grinchiness after someone pointed out to me that I feel about Christmas the way most people feel about elections. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense: the day itself isn't that bad, even a little uplifting, but it's the weeks and weeks and months that lead up to it that start to weigh on people.
Mercifully there is only one Christmas per year and, as my friend pointed out, we've cast three ballots in 2011, so I can't really complain.
It's been a strange year in politics. On the one hand, Time magazine names The Protester as its person of the year. Indeed, around the world, it seems folks are taking to the street to overthrow their governments, speak out against economic inequality and to protest the shortcomings of their local sports franchise.
But that hunger for change hasn't really gone much past the streets. In our three polls, we North Vancouverites decided to keep our MPs, keep our prime minister, keep our mayors and most of our councillors and go back to a tax system that almost everyone agreed didn't work very well.
This newspaper has had plenty of angry letters and I've heard lots of discontented talk. But in uncertain times, voters decided to stick with the devils they knew. Looking back, 2011 was the year of looking for certainty.
The year ended with two important moments for political nerds, both of them deaths. First, Kim Jong-il, the Korean despot who more or less defined international villainy. While there's definitely a sense of good riddance here, exactly what happens now in North Korea is a question the whole planet is waiting to see answered.
At the other end of the political spectrum, we also lost Vaclav Havel, the playwright and unlikely politician who led Czechoslovakia into democracy. Havel is something of hero for me, and I think his death, in the year of the protester, is a reminder of how potent public demonstration can be.
What's to look forward to for political nerds in 2012?
City residents will get rolling on their new official community plan, a debate that will likely be fraught with controversy but will probably lead to a plan that looks a lot like the one they have now.
It's also possible that city council will finally come up with an idea about what to do with Harry Jerome recreation centre or its waterfront sites.
The biggest dollar question on the North Shore is going to be the new sewage treatment plant, and I suspect 2012 is the year our MPs will have to explain why a federally mandated project hasn't seen any federal funding yet.
It's been one year and counting writing for you in this space. Thank you, readers, for your time and for your letters. Happy New Year.
