Oh, 2018, where art thou gone?

To the nether regions
N'er to be seen again,
save in archived footage 
that gives evidence of what once was, then
so that future generations, historians, can pick apart and study
that which so rapidly took place, 
present to us cause and effect,
connect the dots,
and show us how it happened
because when it did, it happened fast. 
We were befuddled then, and couldn't make correlations.
But, in the light of meticulous process,
through the triangulation of myriad sources,
and in the piecing together of evidence,
evidence that at one time was seemingly unrelated, dubious, or speculated, 
true causes have been identified 
and now serve as study for those who seek to thwart reappearances 
or, for others not so nobl'y inclined,
     enables them to present the same in a new guise
in order to do 'it' again, whatever 'it' is.
But, it also may be the case that true causation might never be known,
and people will only be left to shrug, 
for in the pace of events, 
not many are that interested in the past.
But some are. 
     I am one so intrigued and thus
 those are the kind of books I read, 
films I watch,
and videos I peruse. 
Documentaries, they are called. 
For ones in the thick of portentous things
  be they in the heat of battle
upon the storied field
or experiencing the whirlwind of success
only see what is in front of them, at the time
while I, later, observe the greater picture of
how things unfolded,
what effects actions had, 
and the legacies that were left behind. 
Momentous change indeed has by these ones been spurred.
But the unsung played their parts as well,
for all actions great and small
affect the whole
and none of us know what the effects of what we have done 
have had upon the whole until later, if at all
for effects build on effects
and who can sort out the varying degrees of impact
save only God
though I don't want to sound religious

but when it comes to supercomputing capabilities,
he (or she) is still the champ.
And what all this means, or where it leads,
is anybody's guess
because we can't imagine that which lies beyond what we know
and we don't know much.
But at the same time
it can be said that we must know a lot
because earth is a school
and the fact that we're all still here
says that we must be good at cooperating.
And so,
as the calendar starts anew, the game continues,
and time marches steadily on,
as do we,
it can be said that nobody really knows why we're here,
or why we bother keeping track of years,
and all that years contain.
It must be for an important reason
but the only one I can ascertain is that 
we do it simply because "We Exist!".
     We're proud of what we have created, mainly.
     The new year is an opportunity for us to create better renditions of, well,
     everything.