Remembering the message of 1946 with hope for the New Year

[caption id="attachment_16990" align="alignleft" width="326"] A New Year is like a baby with hope for the future[/caption]

Carol Forsloff---Was this year bad for you?  If it was, you aren't alone.  Weather disasters, conflicts the world over, social and economic stress filled the pages of the news every day, with humanitarian issues touched upon, but without the impetus among many to highlight what can be done to make the world a better place for you and me.  But while we worry about our past, if we are like the people in 1946, we will glance behind and know that we have before us a New Year of hope from which we can gain new pathways to peace and understanding.  For 58 years ago, President Truman announced the end of World War II.

Every year in recorded history has seen changes in many directions, and every year people worry that it can't get worse or better.  But we learn, as we grow older, there are things we can change and things we cannot.  And when we learn this important precept, we know where to place our frets and worries and where to place our hope.

Hope, as the poet said, springs eternal.  So 2014 is a year in which we all can hope.  We can hope to make the changes we wish for individually as well as for our communities.  We can use that as a beacon to shine our way to the victory of making that hope materialize into the changes needed to make our personal paths better and also for those others whom we care for everywhere.

Those who fought in World War II had hope when they returned, and when it was announced to the world the end of the war had come, people rejoiced as they looked forward to new beginnings.  What the nations of the world accomplished in those 57 years since has been remarkable in the sciences, technology and human affairs.  While we see where we are lacking, were we to turn back the time and observe the events of yesteryear, we would glow with pride with what we have done.

The Journal of Humanitarian Affairs begins closing the year with the hopes we wish for everyone:  that peace, understanding, goodwill and harmony among peoples be the ultimate goal and that we all lend ourselves to accomplishing that goal one person at a time.