Because if you haven't noticed, we're not excited about much lately. There's an air of silent complacency and dejection in this nation and there's nothing like a big New Year's party to get everyone going. Because the next millennium needs to start on a idealistic note, if you ask me. Which you didn't, but bear with me. Look at the past decade as a model of how not to do things.
Idealism is a rare breed today.
Just look at the headlines. And every one of these issues is generating about as much excitement as Jesse Helms in a speedo. More than 30 years ago, when John F. Kennedy took office, he called on an energetic nation to make a difference. The nation was young. It was enjoying economic good times and shared a dominant position in the world with the Soviet Union.