Is It Really The Worst Year Ever?
Probably not.
2020 was objectively one of the worst years of the past century. American life expectancy declined for the first time in twenty years. A world-altering pandemic shut down life, leading to millions of layoffs and nearly half a million deaths in a span of nine months. The daily news brought an onslaught of stories about lockdowns, case numbers, and ineffective leaders at every level of government. There was a racial reckoning following the police killing of George Floyd, which sparked weeks of protests and publicized the appalling state of policing towards African Americans. 2020’s presidential election relieved millions of Americans, but many Democrats immediately grew dismayed that Joe Biden had not won by a wider margin. The celebrations quickly died down.
2020 seemed like it would never be topped. But 2021, to many people, has not seemed much better. January 6th was undoubtedly a tragic and worrying event for many Americans who saw the future of Congress and democratic governance threatened. But the worries of that moment have been reinforced on almost a weekly basis. 2021 has felt like the year of lost potential to many liberals as they saw vaccine deniers and recalcitrant Republicans doom the progress that they expected out of Joe Biden’s first year. A number of news stories have been portrayed as the second coming of fascist government…