The issue: The new year.
Our view: As many of us make our resolutions, let’s not forget to do more to make our community and world a better place.
A lot of us will be making New Year’s resolutions before Tuesday. It’s a tradition that dates to ancient Rome.
The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances. Janus had two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back, so that he could look backward and forward at the same time.
At the dawn of a new year, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new.
As we look forward to 2013, we have reason to be optimistic. Employment in Kokomo, the state and the nation has made a slight recovery. It’s a sign that the economy is turning the corner, though slowly.
As the ancient Romans knew, the start of a new year is a time for new beginnings.
This is a great time to cut back on stress. Perhaps we’ll resolve to lose weight, to pay off debt, to save money, to get a better job. Or maybe we’ll promise ourselves to start that exercise program and eat a healthier diet.
Maybe we want to get a better education, cut back on alcohol or quit smoking.
But let’s not just think about ourselves.
Let’s resolve to do more to make our community and world a better place. Let’s promise to give more to charity or to devote more of our time to local causes. Let’s pledge to bend down and pick up the next piece of trash we see on the way to the car.
Perhaps we can all do one small thing every week or every month to make the Kokomo area a better place to live.
As we stand on the threshold of 2013, let’s all join Janus in taking a look back and a look forward. We’ll do that this week when we publish our editorial agenda for 2013 – priorities we believe should top the community’s to-do list for the next 12 months.
Let’s, each of us, pledge to make this the beginning of a healthier, happier, more prosperous year.
Opinion
A great time for new start
- Opinion
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Would you pay extra?
If Kokomo residents truly want citywide tornado sirens, they'll gladly pay a one-time fee for them.
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Prepared for a disaster?
Put together a disaster plan and make sure everyone in your family knows what the plan is.
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Move over, Ind. drivers
Keep highway and utility workers safe; remember to pull over for utility vehicles.
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May 18, 2013: Cheers & Jeers
Commissioner earns respect of inmates
Kyle Stacy sends this Cheer for Howard County Commissioner Paul Wyman:
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House of Burgess: The revolution will be printed
Another major milestone in the history of 3D printing was reached earlier this month when Cody Wilson, director of the nonprofit Defense Distributed, announced he had conducted the first-ever successful test firing of a completely 3D-printed gun in (where else?) Texas. Wilson then uploaded the plans online. These files were then downloaded over 100,000 times over the next 48 hours. That was, until the State Department intervened.
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Hayden: From good to great in education
On the campaign trail last year and early into his administration, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said repeatedly that his goal as governor would be to take Indiana from “good to great.”
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Mom’s simple advice still presents a valuable challenge
Most moms don’t base their advice on scientific research. Instead, their words of wisdom come from a greater source — the heart, where they store and process life experiences. Unfortunately, some folks don’t receive the gift of maternal guidance, for various reasons.
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Wolfsie: Making bird calls
One afternoon in 2011, my friend Eric spent a couple of hours over lunch explaining Twitter to me and I thought I understood it all, but as you’ll see from my first few tweets, I wasn’t very confident: “Is anyone getting this?”
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Letter to the Editor: May 13, 2013
Good people wouldn’t do this to their neighbors. This common refrain is being heard over eastern Howard County where industrial development is planned for our farmland in the form of massive wind turbines.
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Vasicek: Mother’s Day stresses
For two hours, the lady sitting next to another airplane passenger boasted about her grandchildren, producing a barrage of photographs. She finally realized that she had been talking the whole time, so she tried to make amends:
“Oh, I am sorry! I have monopolized the conversation. I will listen to you now. So please tell me: what do you think of my grandchildren?” - More Opinion Headlines
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Would you pay extra?
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