May the fresh hope of a new year and decade have a long shelf life
Want to know why they invented the calendar? So there could be some demarcation of time, thus giving pundits the opportunity to pretend they have the wisdom of seers. When the old year expires and the new year inspires, it’s time to review and preview.
Suddenly, we have a plethora of televised and online commentary and snippets of file video to choose from as the new year approaches.
Of course, the immediate reflection of instant history sometimes lacks the context belonging to archivists who allow their work to brew a bit.
For instance, most years seem broken in spirit and body by the time December 31st rolls around. People are so giddy with hope for the new year that they usually give the outgoing year a quick black eye or two.
And this year that compulsion is even stronger because bitter partisanship with the left despising Donald Trump as a scoundrel and the right worshiping him as a saint; the eternal epidemic of gun violence; our nation’s longest war dragging on in Afghanistan; and the twin terrors of global warming and violent weather knocked us around like a volleyball.
All of which make it easier for us to smell the desolation and pungent sweat of 2019. Conflicts and problems seemingly without end have this nasty habit of making all of us feel the deadened clank of hope rattling within ourselves.
Consequently, 2019 seems to be barely ambulatory as it limps toward the finish line. But we can’t write off 2019 as a total abyss where, if you fell into it, you would not hit one solid accomplishment on the way down.
Good things did happen this year. The economy and employment have experienced sustained, unprecedented growth. Reading, Hamburg, Kutztown and Boyertown have been resuscitating their downtowns. Agricultural land preservation in Berks County has remained stout.
I’m sure we all can savor precious things that transpired in our personal lives in 2019, starting with the fact that we still are alive.
Psychologists tell us that the reason why New Year’s Eve is such a global celebration is because it is rooted in our motivation to survive. Which is why many of our New Year’s resolutions revolve around survival – living healthier, better and longer.
Resolutions, at least until the moment they lose their adhesiveness, are symbolic of the universal desire to have some control over what lies ahead, even when the future is unknowable.
Soon 2019 will be in our rearview mirror and the dawn of a new year and a new decade will infuse all of us with the fervent hope that 2020 ushers in a better world on multiple fronts.
Granted, there always is an element of fear and pessimism as we turn the calendar year. But man for the most part is an optimistic creature when something is fresh and new. Here’s hoping that buoyant spirit lingers even as the ensuing months drop like leaves from the calendar.
Of course, 2020 likely will be staggering at the finish line — looking like an old man waiting to be hit by a bus. It happens to all expiring years.
But if you embrace the gospel as written by Monty Python and always look on the bright side of life, there always will be 2021 to look forward to.
Isn’t the calendar a dandy invention?
Soon 2019 will be in our rearview mirror and the dawn of a new year and a new decade will infuse all of us with the fervent hope that 2020 ushers in a better world on multiple fronts.