By Staff
The new year is upon us and let's hope it is a better one economically than was 2008.
Southwest lower Michigan took quite a hit this past year with the closing of businesses and the loss of jobs that affected nearly each and every one living in this area in one form or another.
There has been plenty of time to dwell on the negative over the past few months, but with the dawn of a new year comes the hope of prosperity and well being for all of us.
Like they say in the sports world, "Hope springs eternal."
We know it is going to be a long, tough uphill climb out of our economic hole, but if everyone chips in and gets their hands a little dirty, we know we can dig ourselves out of it.
Americans have a tendency to want to look back to the "good old days." Now is not the time for that.
We need to look forward and be willing to try new things to create a better, stronger America.
We cannot just settle for the way things were.
That won't get the job done this time.
We as Americans need to step up and put our best foot forward. We need to put our collective minds together and come up with new ways to keep this country strong.
With the election of 2008, we as a country demanded change.
That change will not come without hard work and sacrifice on our part.
When the clock struck midnight on Dec. 31, a new year was born.
Let's not waste it by dwelling on the past.
The road before us is a bumpy one filled with many a pothole.
But instead of looking for the easy way around the problems, let's buckle down and fix them to the best of our abilities and then keep marching forward.
The journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first step.
Now is our time to take that step.
Welcome 2009. Let's get to work.