It was with a feeling of exhilaration that many of us watched the telecasts of worldwide celebrations last New Year's Eve. The sheer joy and unity of spirit with which people of various cultures welcomed the year 2000 were unforgettable. It was a unique 24 hours in human history, during which the Scriptural ideals of peace on earth and goodwill were taken as something more than poetic sentiment. They were tangibly felt and shared on what may well have been an unprecedented scale.
My discouraged view of humanity's future was revised.
Perhaps the event served to challenge the cynic in many of us. I know I was humbled by what I saw and heard. It definitely wasn't the usual self-absorbed merrymaking that played across the TV screen. My somewhat discouraged view of humanity's future underwent a revision throughout that day. The celebrations seemed to say that continued outpouring of love and joy and goodwill is possible—at times in unpredictable form, scope, and outreach.
