And so this is Christmas.
And what have you done?
Another year older
A new one just begun.
These words from John Lennon always give me pause this time of year.
Another year older?
That’s not so good.
A new one just begun?
That’s more hopeful.
If anything, 2008 suffered its share of schizophrenia; a year of highs and lows, ups and downs.
There were moments that rank; there were moments that stank.
A year that for many was not so good, and yet, for many others it was a year more hopeful than many others in the past.
America saw the greatest loss of wealth in its history as two numerical drops in the Dow Jones Industrial Average set new records in October.
While it wasn’t the greatest loss of percentage in history (the Dow was only worth a few hundred points 90 years ago), the shudders that went through the economy cracked the pillars of banking and almost sent one million auto workers out on the street.
And what are we to make of the billions spent in “bailout” plans and consumer spending?
Will those efforts shore up the sputtering economy or will 2009 make its predecessor look like a walk in the proverbial park?
By summertime we were paying $4.00 a gallon for gas; by Christmas we were paying less than half that, as world demand plummeted in reaction to people not buying in previous volume what places like China were making.
Internationally, America’s place as a beacon on a hill dimmed in growing quagmires like Afghanistan and Iraq, operations run by a Commander-in-Chief with one of the lowest approval ratings in the history of approval ratings.
We worried about our jobs, we watched our credit lines shrivel up and in general we couldn’t buy a home or a car, at least not easily.
We lost icons like Charlton Heston and Paul Newman.
The haves still had and the have-nots still didn’t, but the gulf between them widened.
And yet, in the Year That Wore Two Faces, Americans didn’t give up, and we didn’t give in.
For all of the historic downturn, 2008 will probably be remembered most for an upstart senator from the Midwest who battled better financed and better positioned opponents to break a racial barrier many thought they would never see.
Barack Obama won the White House coming from a mixed race background.
For many words fell short of explaining the feeling of going from segregated bathrooms, drinking fountains and schools to a President of African-American lineage in a single lifetime.
Already Obama is bucking the bitter bipartisanship of Washington by appointing people who he feels is best for the job regardless of ideology.
Will 2009 see him fall into the same well worn paths of government-as-usual?
We don’t know.
But we do know that right now, the fresh air of change smells a lot better and a lot more hopeful than what our governance had become.
HEY!-The Bremner family wishes you prosperity in 2009, whether that comes in material forms or not. We wish you Happy Holidays, and we wish you peace.