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Your e-mails: Remembering 2005CNN.com readers offer their thoughts on the past year
(CNN) -- As 2005 comes to an end, many people are contemplating the events, both personal and far-removed, of the past 12 months. CNN.com asked readers how they will remember 2005. Here are a few of their responses, some of which have been edited: 2005 was the Year of the Leak. The CIA and the NSA leak stories will be kicked around by reporters for years, because they involve national security, freedom of the press, shield laws and the rapid erosion of our civil liberties. This past year has been a very tumultuous one. Iraq seemed to put everything into perspective - what could go wrong did go wrong. The weather, especially in the U.S., with the tornadoes and the hurricanes, played havoc with everyday lives. Being Canadian it was saddening to see all the blaming going on between neighbors, from softwood lumber to mad cow disease. Now the rhetoric about guns in Toronto and how the Canadians see the gun laws in the States is the culprit. Sadly, no matter what, at the end of the day, individuals are to blame. It would be nice to have 'normal relations' again between our two countries. In closing, let us hope that things will improve in the coming year and that all, worldwide, can see and understand that peace must be given a chance, that religious bigotry and hatred, that racism, that social bias can begin to be erased from our vocabulary. As a lifelong White Sox fan, I will remember 2005 as the year my dream came true, watching the White Sox storm through the playoffs and winning the World Series in true blue-collared fashion, ending an 88-year-drought. Watching the victory parade down LaSalle with 2 million other fans and 13 tons of paper cascading down in jubilation over the White Sox winning the World Series was something I will never forget. Finally some wonderful news dominating the headlines in Chicago, it was everything childhood dreams are made of. Despite the tsunami, I'm willing to say that a peaceful accord between the Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government was one of the remarkable events in 2005. Was it God's sign for all Indonesians to reconcile? I think it was! I would say that 2005 is an overall success. There is much negative talk about our country and its political aspects. I believe one reader commented that the year reflected our poor moral state. I think this year was a positive step for the moral state of our country. For the first time in a while, we have a moral president of good character, who I admit, could use some political lessons at times, but regardless of how great of a political leader one is, he or she is never an optimal leader unless leading from a moral foundation. President Bush has that foundation, and I, for one, am happy that so much of our country's corruption has now been brought to the surface so that we can take a good look at it and work toward its improvement. No problem is resolved until one can see it in clear view. So here's to the realization that our country needs to refocus from a standpoint that our forefathers began with, being Christian morals. I am thankful that this year had its share of tragedies and conflicts which forced us to take steps back and see reality and all of its glory, or lack there of. Again, I view 2005 as a halt to the inertia that our country was stuck in, and the beginning of a movement in a more positive direction. What more can we say than "what a year." We watched in horror at tragedies that others had taken part in. We grieve and mourn, yet our society is still strong. Maybe we'll find ourselves doing the "good" things we say we'll do in the new year. Love, live, and be happy. 2005 was the year I became an eternal optimist. A couple of weeks before our family was to move to Germany for our dream assignment with the Air Force, Hurricane Katrina hit. We lost our home and all our possessions. We lived in a church shelter for three weeks and stood in line at Wal-Mart for seven hours, but through it all I became an optimist. Seeing all the care and compassion poured out upon me and my fellow Gulf Coast residents instilled in me that people are really good, caring and loving. Everyone pulled together to help each other, from handing out Gatorade to those standing in that seven-hour line at Wal-Mart to mucking out houses of people we didn't know. Wow, I wouldn't trade it for anything; guess that's why we requested to stay in Biloxi instead of moving on to Germany. The year 2005 has proved to be a good year. After 2004, having issues at work, losing my sister to leukemia, and just not being happy, 2005 had to be a better year. I have changed jobs, have accepted my sister's death, and got married in October. For me personally, life has seemed to come together and make a little more sense than it previously had. Sure, the economy isn't the greatest and we have to pay more for gas -- both for our cars and houses -- and we are still at war, but there is a lot to be thankful for in this year 2005 and I am grateful. The "goodness" of the year is relative, but I'll take it. Losing my sister at 18-years-old to cancer was tough, but I've learned to appreciate life so much more because of her. Here's to another year of promise in 2006. 2005 may go down in history as the year that faith in the U.S. government reached an all-time low. The Bush White House proved that insider politics really is ugly, and that a considerably large number of politicians are not doing what is in the best interests of their constituents. Secrets, spying, NSA, and now the SBA . . . all proves that the Bush presidency will not be leaving a positive legacy, but more of a bad taste in the mouths of the American people. Reflecting on 2005, the word that comes to mind is resilience. Whether I watched coverage of Katrina or New Yorkers walking across the Brooklyn Bridge during the transit strike, I was awed by the power of the human spirit. We are a nation of incredible human strength, and as we approach 2006 we are confident that the USA will overcome any event that threatens to destroy our peace. Blessings of health and joy in 2006 to us all. To me, 2005 marked the end to an era that I grew up with. The fall of Iraq, the passing of Pope John Paul II and Chief Justice [William] Rehnquist, the retirement of network news' triumvirate, the pending retirement of Fed Chief [Alan] Greenspan, Prince Charles' remarriage, and even the court wranglings of celebrities Michael Jackson and Martha Stewart have all wiped away what few traces were left in my mind of the '80s. Although 2005 will probably be most remembered for its trials and tribulations, such as Hurricane Katrina, the London subway bombings, the quake in South Asia, and the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, to me, they have also shown us the promise of a new beginning. While forces beyond our control have thrust us through a "baptism by fire," the end of this year signaled signs of life emerging from the ashes, helping to usher in new hope for a better tomorrow. Free elections in Iraq, the Gaza withdrawal, and the rebuilding of ravaged cities should spark awe in the power of the human spirit and its ability to endure through struggle. William James once said, "Need and struggle are what excite and inspire us." With that, here's to a better 2006! The year 2005 brought my husband back safely from Iraq. His unit opened schools, trained police and guarded election sites. He had countless Iraqis come up and tell him thanks and not one of them told him that he was wrong. I say hooray for America and all of the triumphs we have had and all of the tragedies we have overcome. The year 2005 is one which will live in infamy in this part of the country, to quote President Roosevelt. What everyone in the New Orleans area and Gulf Coast Mississippi had feared and hoped would never happen in their lifetime came to pass. The tragedy and misery was exacerbated by an inept, incompetent, dysfunctional federal government, and an ill-prepared state and local government. Couple this with the present incessant quagmire in Iraq with American troop deaths approaching 2,200, not to mention thousands crippled and maimed for life, and 2005 will be a year to forget. Thanks to Hurricane Rita, 2005 was a year of personal growth. Along the Southeast Texas Gulf Coast, we learned lessons in humility, patience, pride, sharing, compassion, determination and respect. All these lessons were learned in a short period of time but will be with us for the rest of our lives. In my opinion, 2005 will go out with a bang. We have seen elections, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, our soldiers losing their lives for our country, death and destruction everywhere. I got the opportunity to see the devastation from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita firsthand. I went for two weeks with the Red Cross to Louisiana to do what I could. I will never forget the pain I felt coming home knowing that I have a home, job, family and my health, and they do not have anything. What will 2006 bring? I, like so many other mothers, will remember the year 2005 as one waiting for my precious only child to come home from the war front. He left in January and returned home in October. He was sent to Anbar province in Iraq. We went through a lot. His Marine unit, 3/25 battalion, suffered many losses. All during his deployment people asked me, "Why did he go?" He didn't have to! Is he crazy? He had been out of the military for four years and is married and has a 5-year-old son. I found myself feeling guilty because I had raised him to be patriotic and to love his country. In my deepest heart, though, I was (am) so very proud of this young man that I am privileged to call my son. He felt a duty to his country, to use the training the government had invested in him and he felt a calling to do the right thing. Young men and women like my son give me a great sense of hope for the future of our amazing country. God bless them all! Three wonderful things happened to me in 2005! One, I married a longtime friend and co-worker in a private ceremony in July! The other thing that happened was when my son returned from his tour in Iraq safe and sound in one piece and alive in October! The other event was when my children asked us to keep my grandson all night on Christmas Eve! He is 17 months old, and it was so much fun having a little one in the house! Listening to him and my 3-year-old granddaughter babble to each other on Christmas Day and having most of our family home for a festive dinner on Christmas Day! For the few that couldn't be home I thank God for the telephone, so we could put it on speaker phone and the entire family could visit with each other! I am thankful every day for the blessings in my life! 
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