Normally the New Year is an opportunity to revel in a hot bath of optimistic idealism. Let's try a tepid shower of pragmatism this year instead.
It will be hard to forget 2020. I dare say it will be even harder to forget than 2000, the New Year we all thought would stick in our collective minds for a lifetime.
But here we are, a score of years later at the end of another month and another decade, and 2021 will be entering with all the hope we expect of any incoming year (and then some). But whereas we always want to keep hope alive, it is also equally desirable to keep expectations low. By tempering our enthusiasm (and keeping our unrealistic desires at bay) we may have a better chance of accepting the difficult and relatively unchanging weeks and months ahead. So here are some things this pragmatist thinks we should keep in mind as 2020 turns over into 2021 and we begin a new"Roaring Twenties" where the "roaring" is a global pandemic.
Vaccines are the end of the beginning:
To quote Winston Churchill after the Battle of Egypt during the Second World War: "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." In his wonderful wordplay, Churchill gives us a pragmatic maxim for our own times. The logistics of vaccinating greater than 70% of the world and achieving herd immunity is unprecedented with this type of virus. Clinical trials look promising, but that is not the same as real-world use and sustained immunity, especially for a novel virus that is actively mutating and globally distributed. We must all be prepared to wear masks and limit our activities indefinitely until this virus breaks its chain of infection. There is no "silver bullet" except the tried and true methods used for millennia; to stay at home and to stay safe.
Don't expect political unity:
Political unity is not something we generally associate with free societies; the very idea of political unity is contrary to rational thought and freedom of expression. How many people in your day-to-day life do you agree with 100% of the time on anything? Whether it's how the toilet paper should be hung, or whether a turn signal is necessary before changing lanes on the highway? And yet we expect politicians, whose jobs rely on cultivating a consensus within a diverse majority of constituents, to agree on everything all the time? The only thing politicians will agree on all the time is spending your money; and only if they are all getting a fair-share of it themselves. Be a wary consumer of politics and politicians and remember, they are only as good as we make them. Which brings me to my next point...
Governments cannot help you:
It is tempting to blame government(s) (at all levels) for our ills, whether that is closures, restrictions, health recommendations, or doing nothing. In fact, the entire premise of governmental action (or inaction) is a Hobbesian dilemma of the first magnitude: governments that do nothing are blamed for inaction, and governments that do too much are accused of tyranny. The simple fact is that personal altruism is a better solution than governmental dictates. People should consider whether their actions are for their personal good or the good of all, starting with their families, friends and neighbors. When individuals do this it is noble; when governments do this, it is tyranny.
US Presidents are powerless:
Any rational, patriotic person wants each new president to have a fair-shake when they start their administration. Whether we like the incoming president (or their policies) or not, we do like our republic and its institutions. However, using inflammatory rhetoric or expecting a new administration will be any more or any less effective than the outgoing administration, is foolish and naive. US president's have very limited powers, and it is up to us to protect ourselves from physical and financial harm as best we can. No president, no matter how good their intentions, can do much beyond guiding foreign policy.
Joe Biden is the President of the United States:
Whatever we may think about voter fraud and corruption, no credible evidence has met a legal threshold. Again, this is the price we pay for living in a free society; we have to abide by the rulings of our legal system. If there was fraud, strike it up to a miscarriage of justice and move on. There have been many people convicted of crimes and later exonerated (sometimes after decades) and they got on with their lives; get on with yours. Building a life based on the shadows and flickers of conspiracy and intrigue is unhealthy and pointless. If true, there is nothing you can do about it, and if it is false (which is most likely the case) you will be distracted from doing important work like helping yourself, your friends and your family survive these trying times ahead.
Donald Trump was not (is not) Satan:
On the other side of the coin, let's try to refrain from depicting Donald Trump as the anti Christ. Whereas Mr. Trump was no statesman, he did accomplish many good things, especially in the area of foreign policy and state's rights. The United States is now $27,000,000,000,000.00 in debt against a projected Gross Domestic Product of $20,800,000.000.000.00 (130% of projected GDP) we can't afford toilet paper let alone defending the world or engaging in unprofitable globalism or idealistic wars. Not to mention embarking on new governmental or social entitlement programs. A healthy dose of "America First" is long-overdue, and we should all help remind Mr. Biden and Congress that the days of Wilsonian-Obamaesque foreign idealism and social progressiveness are long behind us. What does that look like? I would like to see the state governors submit proposals for infrastructure projects and request loans (not grants) or bond guarantees from the federal government to execute them. We need more infrastructure and less commercialism in our governmental investments and expenditures.
Conflating Communism, Socialism, Capitalism and Commercialism:
Let's all try to agree on terminology in 2021. As far as economic systems go, it is obvious that capitalism wins out over all other economic system by furlongs, since even communist countries rely on it to survive. This is not a"necessary evil;" it is because capitalism is the natural order of human society, and has been from the very start. Whether you were trading berries for meat, or gold for grain, you were indulging in capitalism. What is less natural (and has chaffed people since the start of the industrial revolution) is commercialism, often conflated (and definitely related) to capitalism, but not in any way a natural consequence of markets or consumption, since both are manufactured artificially. Whereas true communism (where supply is driven solely by demand) is flawed, because no one can predict what a market will want 100% of the time; using fear and sex (and the fear of not getting sex) to promote endless demand for merchants to supply, is no great solution either. And this extends to the consumption of news and opinion as well. Any media outlet that pays people a salary is a commercial venture; even public media (who get their funds from the government or corporate sponsors) have someone to answer to. We need to keep this in mind when we assign "purity" or"orthodoxy" to any media outlet. They are there to sell ads and you are there to buy their sponsor's products; you are a defined demographic and they are selling to that defined demographic and providing content best-suited for accomplishing that goal. Objectively informing the public is (at best) an afterthought, and is usually, an unintended consequence at that.
We also need to define that Social Welfare and Social Democracy are political concepts not economic ones. Both sides have valid points regarding the effects of government on markets, but it is hard to have valid discussions about these points (good or bad) if we endlessly change the definition of terms and rhetoric, or have no real meaningful understanding of what underpins them. Unless the means of production is wholly owned collectively by the state, it is neither socialism nor communism. It may very well be a welfare state, or a Social Democracy, both of which have their limitations and challenges to personal freedom and liberty, but we should discuss those issues from the established nomenclature of economic theory rather than political execution.
Not all science is equal and skepticism is the cardinal rule of scientific inquiry:
When I hear people say they are following"science" (and are doing so blindly) I think of the "9 out of 10 dentists" that recommended a certain brand of sugarless gum in the 1970s, or the doctors who recommended menthol cigarettes as"soothing" for the throat in the 1950's and 60s (see commercialism above). The fact is, science has been just as complicit as religion in causing great harm when misused. Remember the Nazi holocaust? That was based on excellent (and peer reviewed) science, contemporary to the time. Science itself doesn't even trust science; the hope of every scientist is to either find another scientist more right or more wrong than themselves. We (as consumers of science) whether it be health, climate, psychological or technological, need to be mindful of this and use our best sense, good judgement, and due-diligence. Science for science's sake, would have prevented everything from steam engines to landing on the moon to curing diseases like Small Pox, all of which were accomplished by other scientists' valid skepticism and persistent counter-inquiry against established science. Likewise with technology; Eli Whitney was a school teacher, but he invented two things that revolutionized the 19th Century; the cotton gin and inter-changeable gun parts. Innovation and brilliance can come from anywhere regardless of credentials, and smart societies keep their eyes and mind's open.
Avoid resentment:
It is easy to resent your situation (whatever that may be) isolation, boredom, pain, illness, anxiety. Resentment is perhaps the most useless of emotions in that it has a purely negative effect. You cannot "resent yourself" to change, you can only resent and be consumed by that resentment until it becomes full-blown bitterness. Best to give the universe a break and find something positive in every inconvenience. Chances are someone has it worse than you. As Socrates pointed out: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
Seek joy:
If patience is a virtue then finding joy in deprivation is downright sainthood. But there is something to be said for finding joy in everyday things. Try setting the table and lighting candles for dinner, or even dressing for dinner rather than hunkering down over a coffee table in your pajamas. In the navy we are taught that to keep-up morale in a shipwreck, you should make sure you shave every day. This may seem silly, but routine and purpose can do wonders, and having a focus on something you can do rather than something you cannot do, is probably healthier in the long-run.
And finally... keep calm!
2021 shall pass just like 2020 did. All things pass, one into another. If we stay healthy and safe, we will live to see (and thrive in) another day. Panic has no reward other than anxiety which only makes more panic. Take it all, one day at a time, and hope for the best. If you try, you really can have a happy New Year whatever 2021 doles out!
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