2020 was brutal. Let’s look forward to a better 2021

by Pete Mazzaccao
Posted 12/30/20

As I type this editorial for the last Local issue of 2020, I’d like to bid good riddance to the year, take a long deep breath of optimistic air and prepare to herald the coming new year with …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

2020 was brutal. Let’s look forward to a better 2021

Posted

As I type this editorial for the last Local issue of 2020, I’d like to bid good riddance to the year, take a long deep breath of optimistic air and prepare to herald the coming new year with the surety the problems of these past 10 months will melt away like the last page on the calendar.

The reality is that we have several more months to go. I’m reminded of this by the steady tick of grim news  of COVID-19 around the world. The case counts keep climbing and guidelines to stay home and a distant continue. Even one of my normal escapes, Premier League Football, has served as a constant reminder that even the pursuit of old normal is anything but. The matches I’ve had on in the background as I write take place in eerily empty stadiums and an upcoming match between Manchester City and Everton has been postponed because of a Covid outbreak within the City side.

Yet, I’d like to focus on the positives. It may be the only way we can all keep from going mad as we endure what is likely to feel like the longest winter we’ve ever had.

Despite the grim news, there is plenty about which to be positive. Vaccines with remarkable efficacy are being administered in local hospitals. As vaccinations roll out to front-line workers and people older than 75, the daily case numbers are declining. The seven-day average in the state has dropped from an all time high of 10,579 on Dec. 26 to 7,174 on Dec. 28. These are still levels far higher than earlier this year, but the direction is positive.

The vaccination program can let us all imagine a summer in which we may be able to finally reclaim a bit of normalcy: travel, vacations, family visits. Going to a restaurant. Seeing a band. A live sporting event. A Phillies game at Citizens Bank park in the sun among 45,000 fans never sounded better.

I’m also looking forward to bidding farewell to President Trump. I know that will elicit groans from our conservative readers, some of whom I have traded emails this past year. I know they see the Biden administration as far to the left of what they’d like to see steering this country. However, many might agree that it will be nice not to worry about our leader tearing down the social fabric of the nation via Twitter on a daily basis. I know we won’t see the end of partisan division in this country, but it will be better to have the bomb throwers on the outside rather than in charge.

The best thing, however, will be letting our kids get back on with their lives, going to school, playing sports and seeing their friends on a regular basis. It’s been an eternity for them in front of screens and away from their friends. The start of the next school year will be the sort of thing we never take for granted again.

So yes, stay positive and look forward. 2020 is gone. It will get better.