Things Can Only Go Up From Here, Right??
By: Stony Brooks
Tags: 2021, America, Politics, American Politics, American History

Things Can Only Go Up From Here, Right??

In two short weeks, 2020 will mercifully come to an end. Barring any unforeseen plot twists, and with perhaps a modicum of luck , we can look forward to closing out a year that has been like no other in a decidedly non 2020ish way: quietly.

Not so fast

As anxious as we all are to put 2020 behind us, the new year promises to bring with it a fair share of its own drama, largely due to the unresolved questions left by its predecessor. The following is a list of 5 of the most pressing questions looming ahead for the US as we prepare to enter the second year of the new Roaring 20’s.

#1: Vaccination

If “pandemic” was the word of 2020, look for the term “vaccination” to dominate much of the headlines in the coming months. As of this writing, Great Britain has already begun its roll out of the Pfizer vaccine and the U.S. is not far behind. Perhaps because of (or maybe in spite of, depending on one’s perspective)the political pressure applied by the outgoing administration, two companies oversaw the fastest development of a vaccine in the world´s history. In some corners, that is looked upon as a positive thing, a miracle even. However, to a large swath of the American population, that very speed is what fuels the distrust that has been building for the past several years.

Memes like the one above are starting to proliferate around the internet and it speaks to the uncertainty that lies ahead with regard to (mandatory?) vaccinations. If mask wearing was the great debate of 2020 (an idea we´ll come back around to later), look for the vaccination debate to be even more intense and far more consequential. While opposition to mask wearing is rooted in a deep seeded psychosis in the American psyche as I wrote about previously, resistance to the vaccination is the product of mistrust of the institutions of government, exacerbated by the Trump administration´s politicization of agencies such as the EPA and FDA over the course of the last couple of years.

Among the litany of issues President elect Joe Biden will have to contend with upon taking office, restoring faith in the government will undoubtedly be center stage. Nowhere will this singular issue be put more to the test than with the vaccination process. From staunch anti-maskers and pandemic denialists to African Americans that bristle at the thought of being forced to ¨take something for their own good¨ only a few generations removed from the Tuskegee experiments, Biden´s first point of order will be to find a way to appease these disparate factions and allay their concerns about the short and long term effects of a vaccine many perceive as being cobbled together under unprecedented political scrutiny.

Photo by Pauline Loroy on Unsplash

The elephant in the room, of course, is exactly how will the vaccine be rolled out. Will there be a mandate for some or all Americans to take it? Will teachers and students be required to be vaccinated as a condition to returning to America´s classrooms? What will be the legal ramifications? As vehemently as some have resisted wearing a mask, it will be a tough sell to require anyone to be vaccinated, especially when a portion of the country flat out denies the existence of Covid 19 or that it is as bad as the media reports. This phenomenon has been driven by certain news outlets and the direction (or rather misdirection) of Donald Trump. Which brings me to my next point.

#2 The Trump fall out

With the Supreme Court effectively ending the Trump campaign´s bid to overturn the Presidential election, Americans can breathe a sigh of relief that democracy is safe- for now. However, to think that Trump or his legion of followers will go away quietly anytime soon is naive at best. While he may have lost the election, 45 maintains a stranglehold on the Republican party and looks poised to exert his influence on American politics for the foreseeable future. That is, if he can stay out of jail.

Photo by Hédi Benyounes on Unsplash

With no less than a half dozen civil and criminal cases pending, 2021 is shaping up to be a very consequential year for one Donald John Trump. Upon leaving office, he will be staring at the very real possibility of jail time, as he´ll be defending himself against an array of charges ranging from violating campaign finance laws to tax and bank fraud charges. Regardless of the outcome of his legal battles, there is exactly a 100% chance that Trump´s loyal disciples will continue to raise hell on his behalf.

No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, there is no debating that Trump´s hold on his base and the broader Republican party is unlike anything we´ve seen in modern American history. His supporters have already demonstrated a willingness to go to extreme measures in their crusade to protest what they perceive as a rigged election.

As if it weren’t troubling enough that rank and file members of the GOP have been emboldened to the point of threatening public officials, including a highly publicized kidnapping attempt of Michigan Governor Gretchen Witmer, State Senator Bob Steinburg floated the idea that Trump invoke the Insurrection act and overturn the election.

As Trump and his supporters get increasingly desperate to manufacture urgency around an unsubstantiated claim of mass voter fraud, anecdotal evidence abounds that something horrifying is brewing. 2020 has seen record numbers of gun sales, fueled largely by first time buyers. Congress has yet to settle on a Covid relief package, further exacerbating an already tense situation. More than perhaps anywhere in the country, Georgia is illustrative of the sharp divide that has come to characterize American politics in 2020.

#3 Georgia on my mind

The site of the upcoming Senate Runoff, Georgia has a long and storied history of political turmoil, and more specifically, voter suppression. So it is not without irony that the once reliably red state would become the symbol of a seismic shift in the U.S., thanks largely in part to drastically changing demographics in the state.

Photo by Mélodie Descoubes on Unsplash

The one time proud bastion of white supremacy, Georgia has perhaps more than any other state come to epitomize the “New South¨. Black Americans fled Georgia and other southern states in droves from roughly 1916–1970 as part of what has been termed the Great Migration. Seeking a better life for themselves and their family from the oppressive Jim Crow south, African Americans set off to various corners of the country only to return decades later after conditions became more favorable. This phenomena has been labeled the Reverse Great Migration and has fundamentally changed the underlying demographics of the affected regions, particularly in urban centers such as Atlanta.

Why does this all matter? With control of the Senate hanging in the balance, (and by extension the efficacy of President Elect Joe Biden’s upcoming term) the two races in the upcoming runoffs are shaping up to be a battle of two vastly different visions of America. One version, represented by Republican incumbents David Purdue and Kelly Loeffler, clinging to a bygone era in which only certain (read: white) voices are valued, while Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock embody the spirit of the rapidly changing South.

These three story lines will likely shape the upcoming year and beyond, but there are at least two other stories that are worth keeping an eye on, earning each an honorable mention spot on our list.

Honorable mention number 1: The economy

As of this writing, law makers are still debating the finer points of a Coronavirus relief package, just as millions of Americans are set to have their unemployment benefits expire. It remains unclear just how sustainable any relief package can be at a time when nearly 100,000 businesses have closed on an either temporary or permanent basis. How can Congress incentivize Americans to stay home to stem the spread of the virus is yet another question, as the messaging of the medical community has in large part fallen on deaf ears.

Honorable mention number 2: The great mask debate

The way Covid 19 has ravaged the nation is a uniquely American phenomena. It has been the perfect storm of entitlement and mixed messaging at the highest levels of government. For months, health experts have been sounding the alarm for citizens to social distance and wear masks, only to have the federal government undermine their efforts while simultaneously doing little to curb the spread.

Donald Trump, in his quest to minimize the seriousness of the virus, repeatedly held large indoor rallies and mocked individuals wearing masks as somehow weak.

This, in turn, helped to give rise to a segment of the population vehemently against any measures aimed at slowing the spread of Covid, be it demonstrations against lock downs or vehemently refusing to wear masks in public, in some instances to the point of inciting violence.

In the best case scenario, the Covid vaccine will not be available to the general public before spring, making the continued need for mask wearing a foregone conclusion. Will Americans take heed in 2021? Will we learn from our mistakes and do what´s best for ourselves and our fellow man. There´s only one way to know for sure. Stay tuned.