THE ISSUE:The new year.
OUR VIEW:Resolve to do more to make our world a better place.
A lot of us will be making New Year’s resolutions today. 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.
Today, we say goodbye to what some have been calling the Oh-ohs, a decade not many of us will miss. It was a time that brought the American economy to its knees, producing not one but two meltdowns in the stock market and the most deadly terror attack in American history.
As we look forward to a new decade, we have reason to be optimistic.
Already, the stock market has made a significant recovery, and there are signs that the economy has turned the corner.
As the ancient Romans knew, the start of a new year is a great 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 the world a better place. Let’s promise to give more to charity or to devote more of our time to community 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 our community a better place to live.
As we stand on the threshold of 2010, let’s all join Janus in taking a look back and a look forward. And let’s pledge to make this the beginning of a healthier, happier, more prosperous year.
