Putting 2018 into context

Charles Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” As we look back on 2018, we may think it was a terrible year for our country. Don’t sweat it, because anyone old enough to remember 1968 can tell you that, 50 years ago, life in America was much worse.

The year started off with the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, which left many Americans dead. Then the events moved at a sickening pace. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated. In the spring and summer, we had riots all across America, and our cities burning. Even the Democratic National Convention turned into riot, and the trouble never ended.

So looking through the lens of 1968, 2018 has been full of human drama, yet we’re not out of control, and we don’t have horrible events happening daily.

May all of us in America and around the world have a very happy 2019.