Opinion

2022: Gloomy to bright?

For many people, this past year has signficantly outstripped 2020 as annus horribilis (a year of disaster or misfortune). Everyone will be forgiven for celebrating the new year with wild abandon (but, celebrate responsibly—don’t drink and drive).

Take your pick for what made the past year practically unbearable for you (we don’t really need to recap the year, do we?). 

The turning of the calendar from one year to the next always fills one with hope and excitement. We ask, “What will the new year bring?” when we should be asking ourselves, “How will I make the new year wonderful?” Our world is what we make it, for ourselves and others. We should face 2022 with a positive attitude and the grit to shape daily life for the best possible outcome.

We all start the new year the same: we are alive, and that ain’t nothing. As long as we are breathing there is hope that the new year will shine as bright as a new copper penny. As we always say, the future belongs to those who plan for it.

This is the time of year for resolutions and predictions. Making predictions for a new year is a fool’s errand—we make predictions and God laughs.

Keizer is a place that makes sober, calculated plans for the future. Our mayor, Cathy Clark, demonstrates this better than most public officials. As she leads the city, Clark doesn’t set unattainable goals but methodically sets the table for success for the city and its citizens.

There are others who strive to achieve the levels of success that eludes other locales. McNary High School continues its drive to be a world-class school under the tutelage of principal Erik Jespersen. 

The new year will be bright for Keizer because of those who give of their time, talent and money to make own little corner of the world a better place. Keizerites have also been generous, never more so than when someone is troubled or in need.

Here, we face the same challenges faced by people around the nation and the globe: a pandemic that is not yet conquered, economic issues such as inflation (especially at the grocery store) and supply chain issues and attempts to curb personal rights. How we face those challenges will say much about who we are as Keizerites.

By most measures 2021 was a horrible year, but with fortitude, tolerance and forebearance, 2022 can shine bright for us all. Let’s turn the page from annus horribilis to annus mirabilis. It is withinxv our power to make it so.

                      —LAZ