2015 - a year that will soon be over but the effects of which will be felt in our town, our country, and around the world for decades to come, if for no other reason than the anniversaries it has marked.
While I am not a fan of the panoramic style taken up at this time of year by many pundits, I will adopt it momentarily for its utility, starting with my highs and lows of 2015.
Beginning in the recent past, it is still my ardent belief that Trinity Western University's win against the Law Society of B.C. is the highwater mark for any conservative-minded person in this country.
As a fellow TWU grad put it to me the other day, we needed a win in a year full of bad news for right-leaning people, and the fact that TWU has scored yet another enormous victory for free belief against the forces of politically correct conformity came just in time for what might of been a cold Christmas indeed.
The lowest point of 2015 for myself was the literal flag burning that went on earlier this year in the United States.
The Confederate Navy Jack, as it is properly called, is a symbol for many things, both noble and ignoble. But to argue only the negative side is to commit a textbook act of historical revisionism, and those who did so willingly are guilty of an unforgivable fraud.
Hanging between high and low are the electoral wins experienced by the left this year provincially and federally - even here locally if I may borrow from the now very late 2014.
While I have almost no faith in progressive government, I also believe that Tories who have lost the trust of the electorate by being indolent or embracing idiotic policies must be reprimanded. That was the case in all three of these instances, and I hope we learn our lesson in time for upcoming elections.
Another high point was the grim satisfaction I felt over comments directed towards me.
I wrote about a few untouchable topics this year, and on the whole I felt my take on things was well received, even praised. Yet, I'd also like to thank those whose criticism was constructive, and ask, if they're feeling up to it, to remind less helpful critics to actually read my work before commenting.
Moving onto important dates and themes of this past year, we ought to seriously ponder what it all means.
Victory in Europe, the liberation of Holland, and Victory in Japan all turned 70 this year, while the oldest baby boomer turns 70 next year. The poem In Flanders Fields turned 100, our Queen became the longest sitting British monarch, and the Magna Carta turned 800, all while the strength of the democratic west has been successfully challenged around the globe.
And of course Canada has had its first succession of prime ministers in the middle of an economic recession.
Thematically, 2015 was truly the first year that felt most deeply concerned with 21st century business.
From fighting the Islamic State, or ISIS, to protests over police conduct to renaming Fort George Park, competing interests were often framing their arguments in language and ideas that are almost entirely novel to the new millennium. Case in point, this was the first year a PM said the reason for his cabinet appointments could be summarized as "because it's 2015."
Yet, it has been said elsewhere that 2015 was the year everyone was offended by everything, and I must admit this assessment of the year is incredibly accurate. We have turned into a perpetual victim culture and, as mentioned above, our victimhood arguments are actually given more fuel by the ahistorical nature of the language used in these arguments.
In sum, 2015 was a year that will echo well into the future, and whatever may come, it is becoming clear that we are in this midst of a generational and ideological shift. Are we ready for that shift? Will we learn from the deadly mistakes of the past? Only time for tell, but one thing is certain: it is up to each and every human to make our future world a better place.
