You miss the point: it's not about drawing a line in the past, it's that we couldn't think past a date in the future. We didn't know society-changing events on

You miss the point: it's not about drawing a line in the past, it's that we couldn't think past a date in the future. We didn't know society-changing events on 9/11/2001 would happen. We couldn't believe 1/1/2000 (and after) itself would happen, so mentally created a view of an eternal present where the 1990's wouldn't end ... 2000 & beyond were an unreachable future.