Tomorrow is Christmas eve and I've reflected on the past year and my hopes for the future, and it turns out it hasn't been a bad year/life afterall.

OK, so we don't have flying cars, but we also managed to avert nuclear disaster. We have an uneducated, closed-minded asshole in the White House, but he hasn't gotten us all killed yet, and despite my early misgivings he doesn't appear to be building and stocking concentration camps.

Yet.

I am concerned that the Pentagon has been directed to "test the selective service process" just to make sure it works. They claim they are not readying to re-enact the draft, but why else would they care whether the process still works? You don't see a lot of people with chicken coops in the backyard since the advent of supermarkets.

But this is my optimistic post, so let's pretend republicans don't exist and focus on what's good and hopeful.

Children. Sure there are a lot of juveniles committing crimes out there, but there are more kids studying and being dissatisfied with the world their parents are leaving them. That's how change is affected.

The fad of wearing pants low and boxers high seems to have passed.

Tattoos are on the fade-out, and all those people with arm and ankle bands are beginning to realize their stupidity.

Virginity is sexy again.

Apathy toward HIV is ending.

All in all, there's a lot of good in the world. Hold a door for someone and they will generally thank you. Smile at a stranger, and nine times out of ten you'll get a smile in return. Put a dollar in a bell-ringer's red pail and you'll be rewarded with a heartfelt Merry Christmas.

Take the time to do something nice for someone and they'll take the time to do something nice for someone else. If we want a good future, we have to work to make a good present.