End of the Old Year, Start of the New

The mind is torn as 2008 draws to a close.

What should be our resolutions as the new year begins? And which ones must be dealt with immediately? There is no consensus.

Our nation faces many challenges — how to put America back to work, how to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, how to make health care affordable for every American.

Columnists are far from being in agreement over which issue requires the new government's most urgent attention. And everyone makes a good case. It can be overwhelming. Yes, there are many things that have been neglected and need attention. Which one must be addressed first?

It may have to be enough to leave it up to common sense — and hope the decision makers have plenty of it.

On an individual level, most people, as David Harsanyi writes in the Denver Post, will "embark on the futile task of pledging to eliminate one toxic activity or another from their lives" as their resolutions.

Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing depends on which "activity" is being eliminated and how much toxicity it causes. Eliminating any excessive behavior probably is something to be desired. And making a general pledge to act in moderation is probably a good rule to live by.

On the emotional level, we think of those who saw the arrival of '08 but did not make it to the start of '09. I thought of this yesterday as I was watching a video tribute on Turner Classic Movies to those in the film industry who died in 2008.

Be they friends, relatives or movie stars, they influenced our lives, and their absence will be felt, particularly in the new year when the loss is still fresh.

I guess there is no particular resolution you can make because someone important in your life has passed away — except to resolve to remember the life lessons that person taught you.

The new year brings all kinds of uncertainty. There are no guarantees for anyone.

And yet, almost all of us start the year by taking an automatic leap of faith — the assumption that we'll all be here to make resolutions on the final day of 2009.

Of course, we all won't make it to the end of the year. Inevitably, some will pass away before the year is over. But, as long as there is life, it is said, there is hope.

With that spirit of optimism, perhaps we'll succeed in achieving the big goals.