While “21st Century” itself sounds futuristic enough, the years 2000-2004 teetered so precariously on the tails of the 20th Century, as if in danger of slipping back into the ’90s, that to me they weren’t convincingly representative of a new century/millenium (nevermind the technically accurate argument that the 21 Century didn’t begin until 2001, anyway).

With the arrival of 2005, however, I feel as if the the future is here. 5 years in…there’s no going back now. 2005 carries with it the credibility that several years of bumps and bruises bring with them and yet still manages to maintain that fresh-start zeal of a new era. I think the 21st Century is only starting to wind-up and has barely begun to show us all it has to offer. While the 1900s brought with them the massive scale with which humankind can annihilate itself and the planet on which it resides, this new century promises us the opportunity to wield such weapons as tolerance and ingenuity to live in harmony with the earth and its inhabitants. The big question is, will we do so? I, for one, am optimistic.

Happy New Year.