The World Historical Year 2020: The Next Crisis

- 3 minutes read - 433 words

Headline Pic Credit: “West Side Rag.”

My posts recounting 2020 have all, thus far, centered on the initial outbreak and “first wave” of the COVID virus, in particular from a New York City point of view. But the virus, as science and other nations warned us, would not remain pinned to one location. While New York state slowly clawed its way to a position of stability, the virus made inroads in places like New Orleans, Atlanta, and Chicago.

In NYC, the warming days didn’t herald their customary change in number of pedestrians. The sidewalks remained still and many of the shops along Broadway shuttered their doors one final time. The storefronts that had remained vacant as speculating landlords held their breaths for new corporate tenants remained vacant and were joined by other formerly-lively storefronts. Local haunts like Cleopatra’s Needle (jazz and Dinner: music pouring from the windows on Summer nights…) suddenly vanished overnight. The quiet grew to deafening.

New York and those who had survived the first tsunami shouted admonitions and advice to other states. But unfortunately our nation was in a time of profound political polarization. To follow the advice of “liberal” New York was seen as a vote in favor for “liberal” stances and the “liberal” Democratic party. For the opposing party, in thrall inside a personality cult to the failing Trump, to follow advice or cultural rituals was to act against “their guy.”

A good leader, a kind leader, an empathetic leader, a leader of vision and backbone would have counseled that this was not the case. New York, leader in abolition and ingenuity could have been an example of how to pull together in a time of vast unknown unknowns. A good leader could have taken what was learned and fused it to the pandemic playbook innovated by the Obama administration to help as many people as possible. A good administration, a good president could have done those things.

America, at this time, had an inept, morally bankrupt, game show host instead.

Instead of seeing an opportunity to help, he saw an opportunity to rally his base and lock in prospects for re-election. Trump, a ghoul who never met a wedge issue he didn’t like and who never found a distraction from his failings that he wouldn’t deploy saw a chance to distract from his dismal performance.

And, as if this period couldn’t be more fraught, as citizens came to grips with the monotony and the frustration that quarantine and distancing entailed, the long-festering sore of American race relations popped (again).

This was the Spring / Summer of 2020.