Year-in-Review, News
Fifteen Bad Things That Happened in 2021
Trouble, here and abroad
It hasn’t been a particularly good year despite a strong economy and the semblance of political stability. Climate change, the pandemic, hostile foreign powers, violence, and split government have contributed to a year of uncertainty and anxiety. Fifty-six percent of us say that America is “off on the wrong track.” That is scary.
A list of everything that went wrong this year could fill a large book. Where do you start to catalog this year’s troubles? How about a list of fifteen of the worst things that happened in 2021?
Donald Trump and his allies masterminded the January 6 insurrection. More evidence of Trump’s role is likely to be produced by the House Select Committee charged with investigating January 6, but we already know that Trump watched the events, was reluctant to urge rioters to lay down their weapons, and publicly sympathized with them. Additional evidence documenting the complicity of Trump family members and sitting members of the House and Senate is likely in 2022. We do not yet know how much damage to our democracy and Constitution was done on January 6 by a mentally-ill president.
The military withdrawal from Afghanistan was botched. You can argue that it was impossible to exit…
