It’s New Year’s Eve (2011), so I won’t write a very long post. But there are a few things I wanted to say before we ceremonially say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012. So, without further adieu…
Most people in North America will likely be ringing in this evening with some kind of a party. A celebration of the year that was and an eye full of hope to the possibility of the year that can be. I’m sure you’ve read or will read a litany of articles about the “best” things of 2011 or the “worst” things of 2011. A number of “top 10” lists, or “top 5” lists, or top (fill in the blank with an odd number) list. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy reading some of these and think it is important to reflect on the past.
However, I would hazard a guess that the majority of what is retold at the end of the year are not necessarily the “best” things of the year. They are usually the kinds of things that will attract the most readers. And I understand, there are people whose livelihoods depend on their publishing columns and articles that keep readers coming back. I don’t mean to sound cynical, but I wonder how many lists there are out there where a story like this one would make the top 5.
While there are so many things that happened in the year 2011 that were tragic or catastrophic, I’d like to think that there is an innumerable amount of stories that could just as easily warm our hearts. For every Tsunami that leads to a potential nuclear disaster, there are 20 instances of people doing the ‘right’ thing (like the money in the bag story from above).
It’s stories like these that give me hope for the future of our civilization and in particular, the western world. We mostly hear about the shortcomings of each other and that can lead to a predisposition of expecting the worst in each other. I don’t expect the worst out of you and neither should you. I expect great things.
Expect great things from each other and you just might be surprised at the outcome.
Jeremiah Stanghini 