Editorial: A Good New Year Awaits for Everyone – We Hope
We wish all of our readers a most Happy New Year as
the dawn of 2007 has arrived. 2006 was called everything
from a "bomb" to a "loser," and certainly that year had
moments that were not exactly awe-inspiring.
Perhaps this is one reason why so many have looked with even more eagerness to the start of a new year: it is a chance to turn the page and put the old year on the shelf.
We are glad that much has been put away for the nation and for West Virginia as we enter 2007:
The Saddam Trial has ended with in the most expressive way possible;
The country has had time to prepare itself for a new dynamic out of Washington D.C. with power-sharing between the two major parties;
Governor Manchin now has everything in place, given the success of his party in last November's election. If he can't push through his agenda now with more Democrats in the legislature, he never will.
2007 may be one of those years where expectations are not sky high, where there is no distraction like a Presidential election just yet, and where people are just glad to count their blessings if they get to keep their job, educate their children, and take care of their parents. All these are achievements that mean so much to all involved.
But there remains one group of individuals for whom the change in the year may not seem that dramatic, where their dangerous workplace--Iraq--continues to deny them the simple pleasures of home.
The United States soldier, marine, sailor, airman, or member of the National Guard who is assigned overseas right now deserves a rotation at the very least. Let us hope that, by next year at this time, most of our brave men and women in the field will have been given some significant relief from their travails on our behalf.
Let's let them share in a Happy New Year, too.