Ethics & Religion
Column #2,053
December 16, 2020
2020 Was A Terrible Year
By Mike McManus
The year 2020 was the worst year in the lifetime of most Americans.
More than 300,000 of us died this year as a result of Covid-19. That's
more than all of the 291,000 Americans who died in World War II.
Refrigerated trucks line up outside of hospitals to keep corpses from
rotting.
Experts estimate that half of those lives could have been saved if
President Trump had urged Americans to wear masks. He was warned of the
danger in February, but told the public the crisis would "disappear."
His frequent rallies gathered thousands at each event, few of whom wore
masks.
Republicans covered themselves with dishonor. When Trump failed to win
any of 50 law suits, he appealed to the Supreme Court, and 126
Republican Members of Congress joined the suit that they knew had no
chance. They deserve a stout challenge by Democrats in their home
districts.
Those people who could, worked from home. But millions lost their jobs
and income. Schools and colleges closed, offering classes only on line.
The result has been a sharp decline in the academic scores of millions
of children, particularly minorities. Parents, regardless of their
means, had to homeschool their children.
Through most of 2020 people felt locked down and millions felt
powerless. A TIME cover story noted that "individual nations had begun
to curl up on themselves, motivated by misguided notions of their own
power and self-sufficiency. In the worst months of 2020 we were a nation
that could barely take care of itself, let alone help anyone else
through a crisis." What does an 'America first' agenda mean in a country
that fails its own citizens when it comes to protecting them from a
deadly virus?" Hunger became a sad reality for millions.
In May, the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police was
horrifying. As a cop knelt on his neck, Floyd kept saying, "I can't
breathe. I can't breathe." That killing, reported on television, sparked
mass demonstrations in dozens of cities that lasted for months. Along
with similar killings of Breonna Taylor and Ahmand Arbery in other
cities, Americans were reminded how often throughout history, Black
people have suffered from similar injustices.
Americans did learn some important lessons in 2020. We slowed down. We
discovered what was important - such as playing board games and jigsaw
puzzles with our children. We really listened to them and talked better
with them.
When we were told we should not go outside, except for occasional
exercise - walks in the sunshine became the thing we took joy in doing.
We felt lucky to be able to do that, at least! We might drive a ways to
capture a sunset, or tackle a hunting trail we had never seen before.
When museums finally reopened, we rediscovered paintings and sculptures
that we love. To study the brushstrokes painted 400 years ago was
humbling.
Yet we find ourselves bored, anxious and overworked - if we are lucky
enough to have jobs. We've had lots of time to get to know ourselves
better - that can leave us discouraged and less trusting of our
judgements. We feel drained.
In New York City, when the number of deaths and continued to climb, one
person went out on his fire escape to play Jimi Hendrix's "The Star
Spangled Banner" on his guitar. The notes wailed and withered, swelled
and crested, a story we had heard before, but needed to hear again. Many
neighbors listened from their windows, clinging to the rugged majesty of
the words.
President Trump himself contracted covid-19, but recovered quickly with
expert physicians and medicines not available to most people. He claimed
that if he could kick the disease, so could anyone else.
As I write, I am listening to wonderful Christmas carols. "O Come All Ye
Faithful," which has inspired people for generations, "Noel, Noel, Born
is the King of Israel." Joy fills my heart.
This week three wonderful things happened. A vaccine has been created
that was given to thousands of health workers. And a second vaccine was
announced. They will soon be available to all of us. Praise the Lord!
Third, President Elect Joseph Biden was formally approved by electors in
the 50 states by a vote of 306 to 232. He announced that he would ask
Americans to wear masks for 100 days after he is inaugurated.
This is a hopeful and promising end to a terrible year.
_________________________
Copyright (c) 2020 Michael J. McManus, a syndicated columnist and past president of Marriage Savers. To read past columns, go to
www.ethicsandreligion.com. Hit
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