Media outlets are starting to produce their lists of historically significant incidents and people in 2008, man/woman of the year etc. These are useful exercises although I fear that when (if) history pauses to look back at them many will prove to have been trendy rather than tremendous. But I value these forays into postnostication anyway because they do remind us of something I wish the people taking part in current events manifested some sense of, namely that their deeds will one day be part of history and they should try to act and speak in a manner worthy of being remembered even if there's no guarantee that they will be anyway. Uh, when I say "remembered" I should probably add that I mean without contempt.