After enduring such lists as the top drag queens of the century and the worst America's Cup races of the millennium, well, my head is swimming.

I've even listened to list after list of 1899 predictions about the 20th century. Those idiots predicted unparalleled peace and prosperity right before the bloodiest wars mankind has ever seen.

But one guy came close. And he wrote his book in the 1860s.

In Paris in the Twentieth CenturyJules Verne predicted things like subways, fax machines and urban sprawl. He even predicted student unrest at the universities. Alright, so he did miss the computer (accounting was kept in huge (like 10-15 ft. tall) books, with each entry handwritten by a scribe on a ladder. No one's perfect.

Jules Verne was a man whose imagination has been matched by few. So I'm not gonna try any grand predictions, 'cause I know I'll be dead wrong. I just want to say one thing: Make sure hope survives.

I was watching Contact the other night, and in the midst of its artful discussion of reason and faith, I realized that one thing nearly everyone has in common is hope. Sure, we can quibble over religious matters and such, but just about everybody hopes for a better future. It is the ability to even conceive of a future and the subsequent pondering of the future that makes us human in the first place. Hope, then, is a uniquely human trait (at least among Earth critters).

For good part of this century, hope for the future seemed dim. The imminent threat of nuclear warfare made long-range planning appear silly. Many stodgy dorks fault the baby boomers for not saving by blaming some unnamed "hippy-dippy" notions, but I think that the expectation of mass extinction might have had something to do with that generation's less-than-frugal attitude. Why put money back when some bomb is going to fry it anyway?

Admittedly, few folks would admit to such conscious thoughts, but underneath the surface, well, I think this notion had a good run.

But no matter. As the cloud of nuclear extermination has slowly lifted, once again children and their parents can dream of a future, a better future. And in order to dream, you must have hope.

This sounds so simple, I know. Of course we must have hope. Of course we must continue to dream. But if you look back at the history of mankind, there have been entire centuries where large civilizations apparently lost the ability to dream, to control their own futures. The Middle Ages in much of Europe come immediately to mind.

And there are those who believe our increasing reliance on technology will lead our increasingly global civilization into another period of self-induced darkness. Most people will voluntarily give up the ability to dream, instead accepting the dreams foisted on them by virtual reality entertainment and the like.

It could happen. I know smart people who sit and stare at the television for hours at a stroke, not conceiving of an original thought the entire time. I think this sort of behavior is destructive, though I don't know what to do about it.

What I can do is plead for people to keep fostering their dreams. Look to the future with wonder, not dread, and keep that eternal flame of hope alive. Teach your children to stand bravely in the face of uncertainty and to resist the temptation to give up. Because there is always something beautiful to see, something amazing to hear. There is always a new encounter that is worth experiencing. It is never too late to hope and dream.

And so, as we enter the year 2000 (and a new millennium, if that's how you like to see it), do more than make New Year's resolutions. Dream a few New Year's dreams as well.

Jon Worley has often been mislabeled as a pessimist. He prefers the term "misanthropic optimist."