A Year Ends, Another Begins

It's been a strange year in so many ways, but good too in many ways.

Embrace Hostility made a bit of a mark, even though it was originally just to help sell bumper stickers. I did sell a couple, so maybe some more smart ass posts will get a couple of more?

Columbia Now is now a target of some naysayers, and that's ok - I actually welcome a good discussion. I hope that the naysayers will come on over here and engage in some honest convo. Seems like it's way too commonplace for anons to run amuck.

There's a lot to be said for activism and having a passion for your community. I really feel that civiv engagement is important. It's the duty, though, of civic actors to be open to ideas from both sides and find the right solution amid the many ideas in the ether. Hell, if we're shooting for civility - we should be aiming a lot higher than that - then the least we can do is try to come up with good solutions to our problems.

For me, though, I'm hoping that 2009 will be the time for Columbia to take the next step. Columbia was once the model on which modern suburbia was based. Now, it kind of blends in with the crowd. Columbia can evolve to become cutting edge again. We can go green with our building. We can become a truly accessible, 21st century small city. Our ideas should be challenged and thought out. We should build concensus and be a city and a county that finds ways to break through our own cynicism and determine our own fate.

I hope we're up to the challenge because next year is going to be a tough one.