Even if we want to, 2001 will be a difficult year to forget.
Some years are hard to let go of, and some years we can't wait to leave. The past year was a little bit of both.
In many ways, Americans are eager to leave 2001 behind. It was an unsettling year marked by one of the greatest tragedies of our national history. And yet 2001 and the feelings it brought with it will be difficult to release. In has changed us in many ways, perhaps forever.
National observers writing their end-of-year musings in the past week or so differ over the impact of the Sept. 11 attack. The terrorist action was evil, but it brought out much good in the American people. Was it more good than it was evil? As terrible as it was, did it make us a better nation? Are we proud? Are we angry?
They are difficult questions to answer. Most of us are having trouble sorting out exactly how we, as individuals, feel about Sept. 11. Our national mood and how we react probably will become apparent only decades down the road.
Many years, as we in Lawrence reflect on the year just past, we note significant accomplishments, such as public building projects or achievements. The past year was not without those noteworthy events, but they all seem to pale in comparison with the one pivotal event for which this year will be remembered.
It's encouraging, however, that our lives have gone on. They weren't as innocent or carefree as they were before, but with strength and determination, we have kept on with the activities that make our lives worthwhile.
And that, no doubt, is what we'll continue to do in the year ahead. The fact that a single attack, regardless of how deadly it was, could not bring our country to its knees is comforting and gives us hope for the future.
Hope may be the key. Rick Snyder, a Kansas University psychology professor who has written six books about hope, said the holidays are a good time to foster hope. "There's a fundamental goodness and excitement about hope," he told the Journal-World. "It's got us to where we are as a species."
Events of the past year have illustrated that we, as a species, have some room for improvement, but that doesn't mean there is reason to lose hope. Our hope for you is a year that will bring you and your family more joy than sorrow and a year that will bring the world more peace than conflict.
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