The New Year is a time of nostalgia. Especially as I grow older, I’m acutely aware of the passage of time. So, as we ring is the next year, I think—another year gone… how many more will I have?

This New Year is different. I have no sense of nostalgia about 2020—just relief that it’s over.

This year has been a time of turmoil, trouble and tumult.  COVID has ravaged our world. People suffer everywhere. In America, we’ve been particularly ineffective at managing this scourge—in large part because of terrible national leadership but also because, as individuals, we’ve ignored warnings and have refused to comply with science guidelines—masks, social distancing, regular testing…

And it wasn’t just the global pandemic.

In America, our democracy was nearly destroyed—the democratic election process, the constitution, any sense of truth and decency were under attack.

Mother Nature has also been fierce. Well, maybe it’s not fair to blame nature. It’s we, humans, who have done the damage. Through our overuse of natural resources, we have produced a changing climate and have ignored and downplayed the impact of global warming.

In Florida and Louisiana, and all along the eastern seaboard, hurricanes range and flood the lands.

In the west, the tiniest spark produces huge forest fires that consume everything in their paths.

We humans are a strange species—terrible and wonderful. We are capable of murder, greed and treachery—more so than any other species. But we can also be kind, loving, and clever in a good way. Our good scientists have invented vaccines to save us—to look forward to a better next year. Good-bye, 2020. Hello, 2021—let’s make this a really good new year!