Learn About That

 

2021: We know how it starts, stuck in the grasp of its predecessor. The virus is very much still here and Trump is still scheming to disable our democracy. But unless the Covid variant upends the vaccine and/or Trump's sycophants upend the Constitution, this should gradually evolve into a year of healing and recovery.

Whatever else happens in 2021, I hope we can collectively overcome the darkness that enveloped us in 2020. Because there is much work to be done. 

As we gathered around the fire in the backyard here to toast the New Year on its Eve, my son-in-law raised a revealing question: "Was 2020 really the worst year of your life?"

None of us could honestly say that it was. For me, for example, 2019 had been much worse.

His rhetorical question had a point, and that was that there were a lot of good aspects to last year, pandemic and all. Families spent more time together, home cooking and book groups flourished, friendships had to be virtual but somehow felt more intimate and precious. All of us developed a new appreciation for our front-line workers and care-givers.

For each other.

Also, 2020 was a year of near-misses when a direct hit would have been far more damaging. We escaped the efforts of a tyrant to ruin America's democratic experiment. The type of political system developed in this country proved to be fragile enough to be vulnerable to attempts to undermine it, and strong enough to withstand the most serious effort to do so since the early years of the republic.

We also escaped a far worse toll from Covid-19 than would have been the case had our pubic health officials not prepared for years for the unknown to strike. They knew how to counsel us to stay safe; unfortunately too many of us didn't listen, but it could have been much, much worse.

Perhaps when it comes to the largest known threat to our future -- global climate change -- 2020 was just bad enough in fires and superstorms that we will now muster the political will to tackle that issue. I am hopeful that the Biden administration will take the next critical steps needed in that regard.

Meanwhile, there continue to be new discoveries that help us imagine life elsewhere in the universe, and perhaps there will be some news in that category this year.

The report that SETI has discovered another mysterious radio signal from a nearby star may eventually be explained as an inadvertent human echo, as have previous signals, but then again it may prove to be a sign of intelligent life beyond earth.

I'd like to live long enough to learn about that.

Which brings me to a resolution of mine this year. I want to communicate the reasons to "live long enough" to anyone who will listen. Because all of us in our lowest moments need to locate the hope to carry on.

But if you let it, your mind will deliver some as-yet unrealized dreams and aspirations that will inspire you, and perhaps, just perhaps, help you focus on this idea:

"I'm glad I lived long enough to learn about *that*!

***

Hey, if you're reading this, you're still alive, I presumably am, and so is the news...

* Was That a Dropped Call From ET? -- A spooky radio signal showed up after a radio telescope was aimed at the next star over from our sun. (NYT)

* Out with the old, in with the few: The pandemic has changed New Year’s Eve (WashPo)

* Georgia runoff elections that next week will decide which party controls the U.S. Senate, according to a final tally released on Friday. (Reuters)

* Once a model, California now struggles to tame COVID-19 (AP)

* Tech That Will Change Your Life in 2021 -- New ways to work, exercise, see the doctor, watch movies and sanitize every surface in sight will continue to proliferate. So will monthly subscription fees. (WSJ)

* Misinformation Lit The Fire Under A Year Of Political Chaos In Michigan (NPR)

* Trump’s Focus as the Pandemic Raged: What Would It Mean for Him? (NYT)

* Federal judge throws out Gohmert lawsuit asking Pence to interfere in Electoral College count (CNN)

* Senator Mitt Romney on Friday urged the U.S. government to immediately enlist veterinarians, combat medics and others in a sweeping proposal to administer coronavirus vaccinations and slow the rising death toll. (Reuters)

* Biden, Pelosi Aim to Unite Fractious Democrats -- The president-elect and House speaker share the job of steering a divided Democratic coalition amid a pandemic and an economy recovering from a deep slump. (WSJ)

* Men have died of the coronavirus in larger numbers than women, leaving untold thousands of spouses suddenly alone. Some have turned to bereavement groups on Facebook. (NYT)

* The Philippines will ban travelers who were recently in the U.S. starting on Sunday after a third state confirmed a COVID-19 case with the new strain that experts say is more contagious. (The Hill)

* Taliban carrying out campaign of terror in Afghan capital ahead of peace talks next week (WashPo)

* A more infections variant of COVID-19 that has swept through the United Kingdom has been identified in Florida, state health officials said on Thursday, marking the third known U.S. state to identify such a case. (Reuters)

* Department of Defense medical personnel have deployed to hospitals in San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, two of the state’s regions hardest hit by the pandemic. (KQED)

* Donald Trump Jr. Refuses To Step Down From Post Of President’s Oldest Son (The Onion)

***

"This is the New Year"

Say everything you've always wanted,

Be not afraid of who you really are,

Cause in the end we have each other,

And that's at least one thing worth living for,

And I would give the world to you

-- Songwriters: Axel Ian / Vaccarino Chad

-30-