As we enter a new year, like many Americans, I am hopeful that the world’s challenges of the last few years will ease. I am somewhat confident that 2023 will bring improvement to the general human condition, since the first three years of this decade represent such a low bar upon which to improve. It is indeed hard to be optimistic in the face of growing consequences of global warming, threats to our constitutional democracy, Russia’s war of aggression, disruptions in world supply chains, ongoing COVID-19 pandemic concerns and world economic instability, among many other adverse events. We must remain hopeful.