The Arbitrariness of Importance

In a few days, we'll be in a year ending in zero: 2010. See that zero at the end? That must make it an important year. Right?

That's what I'm wondering: Why, exactly? Is it just because ten years have passed since the last year that ended in zero?

"Everybody" seems to think this new year is really something. Some of it is the typical "end of year" madness that happens every December. You can't turn on an electronic device without being bombarded by someone's "best of" list. And this year, because people insist on seeing the start of 2010 as being the start of a new decade, we get not only "best of 2009" but also "best of the decade" lists.

Okay. Numbers do make an obvious boundary around something, a border between two things. But sometimes the year's number is as arbitrary a boundary as the placement of the border between Minnesota and Iowa -- or, for Canadians, the border between Ontario and Manitoba. The two entities need to be separate, fine. But exactly there? Are you sure? These borders are lines on a map. They bear little relationship to the actual landscape.

That's how I feel about the impending arrival of 2010: Important? Sez who?

The 2000s so far have had a bunch of significant events: the "election" and subsequent election(!??!!!) of Bush, the terrorist attacks in 2001, an adult in the White House as of January 2009. Wars. Terrorist attacks elsewhere worldwide. Tsunami, hurricanes, earthquakes, avalanches, and other major natural disasters, some in unexpected places (and some, tragically, occur where you might expect them to happen). Personally, since January 2000, I've experienced a change of home and country, a divorce and a marriage, and the death of both parents.

But January 2010 promises what, exactly? As for myself, I can guarantee that I won't lose more parents, move, or divorce/marry again. Natural disasters come when they will, regardless of year, decade, century, millennium, whatever. Sort of like federal elections in Canada, though Canadian elections tend to have less impact than your average avalanche. And we all know that the next U.S. federal election is still years away.

So, 2010. About the only thing I can see changing is that we'll be closer to those years we'll call the "teens." And yes, you can bet that word people have already started arguing whether the 20-teens start on Friday, a year from Friday, or on January 1, 2013.

See? It's arbitrary. Just like that birthday I'll have in November, the one that will also end in zero, the one that makes it practically impossible to pretend I'm still in the first half of my life. If I can make myself believe now that the whole "ending in zero" thing is arbitrary, I might get through next November without a nervous breakdown.

Zeroes: Arbitrary. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.