Saying Farewell to 2021
Thoughts on the year that's passed, and a note of thanks
I hope all of you have enjoyed a safe and happy Season. The year 2021 was in some ways not as hard as 2020, and in some ways even worse.
Most of us got out more in 2021, so the CFS (Cabin Fever Syndrome) we were feeling in 2020 was alleviated, at least somewhat. Yet in 2021, as we got a grip on what we were facing, the realization that this could be with us for a while was disheartening to many, even more than the “severe but possibly temporary” mass inconvenience of the initial scary onslaught.
And our media, in its wisdom, sent us to war with each other again.
Covid, like the poor, may always be with us. And also like the poor, the numerous sick and dead may be tolerated at way too high a level, as the under-served global South provides ample hosts, so the well-served wealthy North will need endless re-vaccination against endless variants. Certainly our over-served rich, especially those selling pharmaceuticals to those of us with money to afford them, will be glad to see this pandemic as a permanent “income stream,” as the rich people like to call it.
Covid may outsmart them though. A wise infection doesn’t kill its host, and Covid, at least through the Omicron variant, seems to be learning that. Will a much-weakened, indwelling dominant variant emerge to make Covid, at some point, an over-the-counter treatment problem? We’ll have to see.
I’ll save my thoughts about 2022 for another piece. (My ode to the coming of 2021 is here.) For now, I just want to thank you, all of you. The growth of this site and its newsletter fills me with joy. For that small gift, 2021 was a success indeed.
My best to all of you — those I know well and those I’ve never met except in these pages — for a healthy, productive and relatively sane new year. I think we’re all looking for ways to dig out, including emotionally. May you each find yours.
Thomas Neuburger
RPB,
Yes, actually. For the last half year I've started — and nearly completed — a fictional account of the future of this country, set halfway between today and the full chaos that the lead characters are trying to avoid, each in their way.
It's a look at the conditions under which we'll likely be living, and a look at one of the two possible responses to them — chaos, or someone tries to take charge.
A chaotic future is a separate story, one that's entirely possible. This work looks at a world in which someone (several someones in fact) try to "curate" the future. Who, among many, might want to do that, and be able to? The model for that person is alive today.
Thanks for asking!
As to living differently, I think there are many ways to live both inside and outside the U.S., just for respite and peace of mind. There are a lot of countries to fit a lot of budgets. The future of the U.S. is very much in doubt — this government under either party is not fit to rule, judging by the outcomes so far, and not a good fit for the times.
Bottom line: We're never going 'back to brunch' again, try as we might. One needs to take that into account when deciding how/where to live.
Your thoughts?
Happy new year! For 2022, are you planning to do anything differently to 2021? And extrapolating onwards to 2030 and beyond, do you see yourself having to live any differently to now?