Dave2112
Level of Cherry Feather
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2001
- Messages
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For four years now, I have posted my thoughts on the preceding year in a jumble of disconnected ramblings covering that which we all concern ourselves with:
Deaths of celebrities.
Major political actions.
Social changes.
I could go on and on.
This year, I thought I’d try something different. The impact of a solitary year from the perspective of one individual.
For when we come right down to it, the measure of a year is only that which we see through our own eyes. That which we experience. That which is important to us. We all have things that will make 2004 a memorable year for us. With the hypercharged political arena that our nation is faced with to the state of the world in general, it would be ludicrous for one individual to assume a statement to speak for all of mankind. We try, no doubt. We fail, no quarter.
We all have events that helped shape the afterimage burned into our mental retinas, the image that will be known as “2004” for the rest of our lives. For the political among us, 2004 was a banner year. The shape of the world is gelling into something far different than that which we’ve been familiar with, and many of these processes culminated this year. The Presidential Election was the most polarizing in history, and not simply because of the vast differences between the two men running. It was mostly because of us. We have become divided, many longing for a simpler time, many looking ahead to see the fruits of their labors realized. However, this may not necessarily be a bad thing.
2004 saw the subculture of the Internet Watchdog start having a major impact on world events. Opinion polls are instantaneous as most of the world is connected at the speed of digital lightning. We are all involved in our government (or at least aware of our government) like we never have been able before. For good or for ill, we come out in droves to show the world that we will stand by our beliefs.
We lost Ronald Reagan in the same year as Yassar Arafat. One considered by many to be a guiding force to his people, the other considered by many a terrorist. One a beloved statesman, the other a power-hoarding despot. Which one is which?
I guess that becomes a matter of perspective, doesn’t it? The interesting thing is, thousands turned out to mourn both men. Both parties believed fully in the vision of its former leader.
And the world saw it.
We are completely connected now, moreso in 2004 than at any other time. We now have a greater responsibility to truth, tolerance and acceptance than ever before. Are we up to it? Perhaps we’ll all know by the time I have to write one of these again.
Moving along, there were, believe it or not, those that saw 2004 from a standpoint other than the political. Sports alone saw 2004 as a banner year, again for good or for ill. We started the year with the New England Patriots winning a Super Bowl that was arguably one of the three best ever. We went on to see the Men’s Basketball Team, the so-called pride of the US, fail miserably in the Olympics against nations who only even know basketball through us. We saw the end of an 89-year “curse” as the Boston Red Sox finally claimed the title of World Series Champions. Then we saw pro basketball again in a foul light as a scuffle usually reserved for hockey or boxing broke out and spilled into the stands. Lance Armstrong won his record sixth consecutive Tour de France. And then Professional Hockey folded quicker than a dry-cleaner on Red Bull. We saw the birth of a legend in Peyton Manning, and the death of a legend in Reggie White.
There’s good and bad in every year, but 2004 seemed so much less grey in these areas. Everything was either make or break, do or die, left or right. We’ve had more than our share of ill news this year. The explosion of a Space Shuttle, the vile deeds of Scott Peterson, endless financial scandals and more celebrities getting away with pretty much everything. We’ve seen our first full calendar year of war, and more natural disasters than the world has been prepared to handle. One hurricane after another, the deadliest twisters in decades and a string of tsunamis that may yet have caused the highest single death toll in recorded history.
So why focus on these things when we think back on the previous year? Perhaps it gives us a chance to reminisce one more time before we move on to the next chapter. Maybe only by looking back and dealing with these things together can we successfully process them. These are the events that we’re all a part of, to one extent or another.
But I prefer to think back on the things that made 2004 a unique year for me. We all should. How have we grown, what have we learned, what will we vow to never do again? What changed us, shaped us or corrected us? Now I can’t speak for everyone, but I can look back on an ongoing event in my own life that may have emotional roots that we all should grow from.
In 2004, I spoke to my older sister again. In and of itself, this isn’t that big a thing. However, she and I hadn’t spoken in ten years. She is my only older sibling, and after all that time, I found myself missing that part of me. So, one day a couple of months ago, I e-mailed her out of the blue to either get things off our chests, reconnect or at least find full closure. As it turned out, many of the things that came together to drive us apart were things that were out of our control, actions of family members who don’t know how to keep their noses to themselves and things we weren’t even aware of. After talking for a few weeks, we discovered that in the grand scheme of things they were all relatively minor. We have found that we have a lot in common. We have found that ten years is a lot of time to lose with those that we love and that tiny little differences can often fester into unreasonable division. We have since reconnected and are learning about each other all over again. I am remembering what it was like to have an older sibling to turn to, and she got her only brother back. There’s still a long way to go, but at least neither of us has to go alone.
So what does that have to do with any of this? Well, as previously stated, 2004 was the Year of Division. When we look back on it in ten years, will we find that these insurmountable differences weren’t ever really that big? Will we wonder why we ever felt the way we did? On a global scale and a personal one, will we endeavor to mend the fences or continue to build walls? Personal rifts have affected us even down to the level of our own Forum, so can we apply these principles to our own little microcosm?
Maybe that’s where it should start. Right here. With us. Let’s say that the small percentage of the world that finds solace here does a few things. Let the small stuff go. Don’t get so wrapped up in our own unyielding principles that we are blind to the damage we cause others, be it with a purpose or inadvertent. Learn to successfully function as a cohesive unit and somehow even manage to have a good time after all that.
If something like that could work, imagine that working on a somewhat larger scale. Your own town, for instance. Who knows, maybe it’ll catch on and we’ll see it on a regional level, a national level or even a global one.
And maybe, much like it worked on the simplest of levels, the relationship between two individuals like my sister and I, we’ll look back in 2014 and wonder what we ever differed about in the first place.
To all of the people of this Forum, the people that I have grown to love and respect and have made 2004 a standout year for me, I wish you the Happiest of New Years and a Joyous 2005!
- Dave2112
Deaths of celebrities.
Major political actions.
Social changes.
I could go on and on.
This year, I thought I’d try something different. The impact of a solitary year from the perspective of one individual.
For when we come right down to it, the measure of a year is only that which we see through our own eyes. That which we experience. That which is important to us. We all have things that will make 2004 a memorable year for us. With the hypercharged political arena that our nation is faced with to the state of the world in general, it would be ludicrous for one individual to assume a statement to speak for all of mankind. We try, no doubt. We fail, no quarter.
We all have events that helped shape the afterimage burned into our mental retinas, the image that will be known as “2004” for the rest of our lives. For the political among us, 2004 was a banner year. The shape of the world is gelling into something far different than that which we’ve been familiar with, and many of these processes culminated this year. The Presidential Election was the most polarizing in history, and not simply because of the vast differences between the two men running. It was mostly because of us. We have become divided, many longing for a simpler time, many looking ahead to see the fruits of their labors realized. However, this may not necessarily be a bad thing.
2004 saw the subculture of the Internet Watchdog start having a major impact on world events. Opinion polls are instantaneous as most of the world is connected at the speed of digital lightning. We are all involved in our government (or at least aware of our government) like we never have been able before. For good or for ill, we come out in droves to show the world that we will stand by our beliefs.
We lost Ronald Reagan in the same year as Yassar Arafat. One considered by many to be a guiding force to his people, the other considered by many a terrorist. One a beloved statesman, the other a power-hoarding despot. Which one is which?
I guess that becomes a matter of perspective, doesn’t it? The interesting thing is, thousands turned out to mourn both men. Both parties believed fully in the vision of its former leader.
And the world saw it.
We are completely connected now, moreso in 2004 than at any other time. We now have a greater responsibility to truth, tolerance and acceptance than ever before. Are we up to it? Perhaps we’ll all know by the time I have to write one of these again.
Moving along, there were, believe it or not, those that saw 2004 from a standpoint other than the political. Sports alone saw 2004 as a banner year, again for good or for ill. We started the year with the New England Patriots winning a Super Bowl that was arguably one of the three best ever. We went on to see the Men’s Basketball Team, the so-called pride of the US, fail miserably in the Olympics against nations who only even know basketball through us. We saw the end of an 89-year “curse” as the Boston Red Sox finally claimed the title of World Series Champions. Then we saw pro basketball again in a foul light as a scuffle usually reserved for hockey or boxing broke out and spilled into the stands. Lance Armstrong won his record sixth consecutive Tour de France. And then Professional Hockey folded quicker than a dry-cleaner on Red Bull. We saw the birth of a legend in Peyton Manning, and the death of a legend in Reggie White.
There’s good and bad in every year, but 2004 seemed so much less grey in these areas. Everything was either make or break, do or die, left or right. We’ve had more than our share of ill news this year. The explosion of a Space Shuttle, the vile deeds of Scott Peterson, endless financial scandals and more celebrities getting away with pretty much everything. We’ve seen our first full calendar year of war, and more natural disasters than the world has been prepared to handle. One hurricane after another, the deadliest twisters in decades and a string of tsunamis that may yet have caused the highest single death toll in recorded history.
So why focus on these things when we think back on the previous year? Perhaps it gives us a chance to reminisce one more time before we move on to the next chapter. Maybe only by looking back and dealing with these things together can we successfully process them. These are the events that we’re all a part of, to one extent or another.
But I prefer to think back on the things that made 2004 a unique year for me. We all should. How have we grown, what have we learned, what will we vow to never do again? What changed us, shaped us or corrected us? Now I can’t speak for everyone, but I can look back on an ongoing event in my own life that may have emotional roots that we all should grow from.
In 2004, I spoke to my older sister again. In and of itself, this isn’t that big a thing. However, she and I hadn’t spoken in ten years. She is my only older sibling, and after all that time, I found myself missing that part of me. So, one day a couple of months ago, I e-mailed her out of the blue to either get things off our chests, reconnect or at least find full closure. As it turned out, many of the things that came together to drive us apart were things that were out of our control, actions of family members who don’t know how to keep their noses to themselves and things we weren’t even aware of. After talking for a few weeks, we discovered that in the grand scheme of things they were all relatively minor. We have found that we have a lot in common. We have found that ten years is a lot of time to lose with those that we love and that tiny little differences can often fester into unreasonable division. We have since reconnected and are learning about each other all over again. I am remembering what it was like to have an older sibling to turn to, and she got her only brother back. There’s still a long way to go, but at least neither of us has to go alone.
So what does that have to do with any of this? Well, as previously stated, 2004 was the Year of Division. When we look back on it in ten years, will we find that these insurmountable differences weren’t ever really that big? Will we wonder why we ever felt the way we did? On a global scale and a personal one, will we endeavor to mend the fences or continue to build walls? Personal rifts have affected us even down to the level of our own Forum, so can we apply these principles to our own little microcosm?
Maybe that’s where it should start. Right here. With us. Let’s say that the small percentage of the world that finds solace here does a few things. Let the small stuff go. Don’t get so wrapped up in our own unyielding principles that we are blind to the damage we cause others, be it with a purpose or inadvertent. Learn to successfully function as a cohesive unit and somehow even manage to have a good time after all that.
If something like that could work, imagine that working on a somewhat larger scale. Your own town, for instance. Who knows, maybe it’ll catch on and we’ll see it on a regional level, a national level or even a global one.
And maybe, much like it worked on the simplest of levels, the relationship between two individuals like my sister and I, we’ll look back in 2014 and wonder what we ever differed about in the first place.
To all of the people of this Forum, the people that I have grown to love and respect and have made 2004 a standout year for me, I wish you the Happiest of New Years and a Joyous 2005!
- Dave2112
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