The calendar says it was an entirely different year, but the end is feeling an awful like 2020 with the ongoing COVID surge. Still, some perspective is warranted.
On the positive side:
- Biden became POTUS and Democrats took control of Congress.
- Two important bills (CARES and IIJA) were passed, and a good number of federal judges were confirmed.
- Several different effective COVID vaccines became available, vastly reducing the death toll from what it might have been without them.
- Biden ended the Afghanistan War after 20 years, reduce America's involvement elsewhere in the Middle East, and severely restricted the use of drones to kill people.
- The American economy improved for many people.
- JWST was launched successfully.
On the negative side:
- A loosely organized attempt to prevent Biden from becoming president came far closer than it should have to succeeding, and the insurrectionists managed to occupy part of the Capitol for a few hours.
- The two most conservative Democrats in the Senate decided to make themselves co-Presidents, and effectively blocked the most consequential portions of Biden's agenda, including the bills that would most help Democrats hold on to power in 2022 and 2024.
- A very conservative SCOTUS and some equally conservative lower courts made a number of horrible decisions, including the effective gutting of Roe v. Wade in Texas.
- The COVID pandemic continued in America because Republicans cynically chose to promote anti-mask and anti-vax propaganda in order to discredit Biden and promote themselves, which resulted in the unnecessary deaths of over 160,000 Americans.
- The COVID pandemic continued globally due to a combination of poverty, anti-vax propaganda, and several forms of vaccine nationalism.
- Severe consequences of global warming continued to impact people across the planet.
- The economic growth caused the trade deficit to approached record highs.
On the worrisome but unresolved side:
- Putin massed troops on Russia's border with Ukraine, but NATO members seem to be fairly unified in stating that an invasion would have serious consequences.
- Xi made himself leader for life, and China continued to make belligerent noises about Taiwan. Biden has responded with fairly strong words, and some East Asia countries seem to be taking the issue more seriously.
