As we look to 2010, I think more than any other year I can remember, we look towards this year with hope. We look for the return of a safe economy and better schools for our children, the return of funding for the arts and health care for the needy. I for one am filled with hope. I hope for many things. Many of them unnecessary like an old funky Hasselblad 500c or a spankin new 5DMKII. Many of my "hopes" are the same as yours. I hope that furloughs are taken out of schools so my mom who has been a teacher for 25 years can quit the catering job she had to take on weekends this year to cover the mortgage and can go back to being a full time teacher. I hope that kids go back to schools that support arts, physical education, and individual learning. What would all of the artists of today's world, visual or other have done with no access to art in their youth?
I also know that "going back" is never a solution. Going back(wards) is the opposite of progress. Progress is defined in many ways but almost all of the definitions I found used words to describe progress as a "movement forward" or "advancement". So for 2010, I do wish some things to return to the way they were in a sense but I would have to say that my biggest hope would be that we are able to progress as a nation. That our children, our artists, our teachers our citizens don't look for a way back but a way forward to make 2010 and the following years brighter than the years before it. All we can do is look forward because there is really no going back.
By this point I am beginning to feel a bit like one of the Obama campaigners with my "Hope" and "Progress" campaign for 2010. That may not be a bad idea though. Maybe we should put the signs back out on the lawns and the stickers back on our bumpers and remind Mr. President and ourselves that we are still for the "Hope" and "Progress" that we campaigned so hard for in 2008.
