It was the best of times; it was the worst of times; but then, what year isn’t? Look on the bright side: we didn’t have to watch Trump on TV the entire year.
Here are the biggest stories of 2021, in reverse order:
- BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: The Olympics went off reasonably smoothly in spite of the pandemic. Americans were subjected nightly to the antics of Simone Biles, but ultimately won the medal count.
- THE BEAR GROWLS: Putin responded to a drop in popularity by ramping up repression at home and threatening military action in Ukraine.
- SO DOES THE DRAGON: The Chinese continued to choke the life out of Hong Kong and escalated their threats to Taiwan.
- BOMB BOMB BOMB IRAN?: The Iranian government, now in the hands of extreme hard liners, showed little interest in returning to the nuclear agreement. Israel was alarmed. War was a serious possibility.
- ANTI-VAXXERS EVERYWHERE: The American populist right embraced the anti-vaxxer cause, which spread to Europe and Australia, as well. Efforts to control the virus were hampered as a result.
- INFLATION: Prices were rising all over the world (except in Japan) at the end of the year, due primarily to supply chain issues caused by the pandemic. It was worse in the US than elsewhere, however, as the American economy was more buoyant than Europe’s. Monetary and fiscal tightening loomed.
- THE BIDEN AGENDA STARTS AND STALLS: Expectations for the Biden agenda were unrealistically high on the left, given the composition of Congress, and were only partially met. Morale on the progressive side slumped.
- AFGHANISTAN DEBACLE: Whether you agree with Biden’s decision to comply with Trump’s agreement and withdraw (I didn’t), you have to respect the courage it took to avoid kicking the can again. American prestige was damaged, but the world will get over it, just as it did after Vietnam and Iraq.
- JANUARY 6: The GOP had an opportunity to distance itself from Trump and the rioters; instead, it excommunicated Trump’s critics and called the rioters “tourists”. It is now an overwhelmingly pro-insurrectionist party with zero respect for liberal democratic norms.
- THE VIRUS: Yes, the virus was the biggest story of the year, just as it was in 2020. Anti-vaxxers are still dying in huge numbers every day. At least most of the American dead are Trump voters.