Turning (or Careening) the Corner from One Year to the Next

 Last year, I asked if 2021 can be any more crazy than 2020. Maybe asking that question is no longer practical, with the pace and strangeness that events are happening. I'd say that the two years are probably comparable in terms of craziness. There is, at least, some glimmer of hope for things to change for the better.

The Covid pandemic that crashed on the world in early 2020 continued into 2021, with a post-holiday peak in January, a steady decline in the Spring, a surge in the Summer and Fall with the "Delta" variant, a temporary lull in early Fall and an even bigger surge at year's end with the "Omicron" variant. Meanwhile, vaccines were rapidly developed, then distributed during the year. This virus, in all its variants, was going to do what it was going to do, no matter who is in the White House or other positions of power. The surges and lulls would vary in timing in different parts of the country and world. Covid has taken a real toll, with many lives, but also many lives affected by the often stringent and sometimes contradictory efforts taken to try to  control it. The good news is that while Omicron is more contagious than previous variants, it appears to be less severe in most cases (which tends to be how pandemics tend to behave),leading to hopes that it will rapidly burnout in the population. Future variants may be expected, but if they continue to diminish in severity, Covid may become more of a manageable plague, like other diseases we've long dealt with.

Recent years have also been burdened with a pandemic of emotional melodrama, especially surrounding politics and controversial social/cultural issues. There are still many questions surrounding the last presidential election, the transfer of power, and the January 6th disruptions. Meanwhile, inflation, supply chain problems, Afghanistan, violent crime, and other troubles became the focus of 2021. Mistrust of and disagreement over the credibility of sources of information seems to be an underlying theme of current times. It is encouraging that increasing numbers of people are at least starting to question the media and cultural establishment narratives that drive much of the apparent craziness.

There is one area of great encouragement going into 2022. A combination of bold state legislative efforts and federal judicial appointments have brought us to the verge of  the Supreme Court potentially overturning the fictitious "right" to abortion-on-demand that was imposed on the nation in 1973. That will not in itself lead to full protection of the youngest human lives, but it would open a new phase  in the struggle for protection of all human life.

And with all of the political and social upheaval going on, amazing progress continues to be made in medicine, technology and other fronts. Some amazing advances in space were made this year as commercial human spaceflight advanced with crew rotations at the International Space Station, a privately funded orbital flight to raise funds for St. Jude's Children's Hospital, and several suborbital flights that included well known names among the participants. The James Webb Space Telescope was finally launched on Christmas morning, beginning a mission that will reveal more secrets of the Universe while raising many new questions. Elon Musk's company SpaceX continued rapid development of a next generation space vehicle named "Starship" at a once sleepy beach town of Boca Chica, TX. The first orbital flight of this giant vehicle could happen early in 2022 which, along with several other emerging commercial space ventures, could really accelerate the progress of human expansion into space.

Well, personal lives and human history are seldom phased conveniently by the calendar, so there's no guarantee that 2022 won't match or exceed the craziness of the last couple of years. Nevertheless, may we continue to make headway in protecting life and defending liberty while respecting the dignity of every person despite our differences. And may God's blessings and peace be upon you and yours and wishing all the best in this new year of 2022 and the amazing decades to come.