Forget about Y2K. The pressing question of the next millenium will be: what will we call the first decade?
Earlier generations never faced this dilemma. At the beginning of the 20th century we began naming decades, but we were mercifully through the 1900s and into the 1910s before it was a pressing issue. The advent of mass media, however, has made the problem unavoidable.
Journalists will need to give the decade a snappy name. Radio stations will have to announce that they are bringing you all the hits from the 80s, 90s, and . . . .
And what? The zeroes? The naughts?
My personal favorite is the nonnies, but I doubt that will catch on.
We have grown accustomed to naming our decades and investing that with some meaning, as if life revolves around the zero. Surely the 2000s will have special significance, having so many zeroes, but something so important, so historic, must needs have a name!
Tookay? (2k) No, too obscure. First Decade? Sounds like First Lady. The Nichts?
However will the analysts analyze? How will the pundits pun? Good grief, how will we explain ourselves to ourselves without a decent name for the decade? For surely, a name will be chosen. Somewhere right now sits the journalist, the commentator, the staff writer, who will solve this problem and will name the decade.
If you have a prediction about what that name will be, drop me a line. I'll include the better ones here. Then, we shall see.