EDITORIAL: 2021's downs were met with action

Dec. 31—It would be easy to be depressed when assessing the year 2021.

Record COVID-19 deaths. In the United States, that's over 800,000 and more likely 1 million. Surprisingly, more of those deaths occurred in 2021 compared to 2020, when we had no vaccines. Experts says it may be related to the rapid spread of the delta variant in 2021, a false sense of security when masks and other restrictions were lifted around Memorial Day, or some of both.

On the positive side, we got the vaccines out quickly, though our judgment about even a short-term future of the virus fell short. The vaccines became available in December 2020 to the critical workers first, and then to nearly everyone by April or May.

Unfortunately, the vaccine pushback movement got ahead of our political messages to keep up our guard and stay vigilant. The unvaccinated paid, and continue to pay, the biggest price. That's a truth that doesn't seem to have set in.

The pandemic, of course, was a giant drain on the economy, but the Democratic-passed $1.9 trillion COVID-relief package brought nearly $5,000 in relief to typical families with kids, relief to people who were financially stretched to buy their own health care and families struggling with child care costs.

And we can point to one of the biggest successes in the passage of the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill. Getting something that big done should not be underestimated as an achievement for this Congress and the voters behind them.

Climate changes screamed at us with every natural disaster: wildfires and floods in the West, giant tornadoes in Kentucky, fallout from Hurricane Ida hitting all the way up to the New England coast. We must act urgently.

The Biden administration incentivized electric vehicles and limited oil and gas leases that not only hurt the environment but increase the use of fossil fuels.

Internationally, 200 nations agreed to a compromise to keep in place a key target to reduce global warming.

The pillar of democracy, education, also took a big hit. Distance learning was less than ideal, widening the racial achievement gap, and it created a whole kinds of new social and mental health problems for learners young and old.

And we can't forget the threat to American democracy, when the U.S. Capitol was attacked and our legally certified election results were nearly burned by a gang of thugs and others deceived by a social media that became willing — and now we find out — enthusiastic co-conspirators.

The power of evil is inversely proportional to the degree to which were are willing to combat it. And combat it we did.

Democrats in Congress mounted not only a vigorous response to the Jan. 6 attempted insurrection, but also did everything in their power to make the commission fair and bipartisan. All but two Republicans rejected this idea, but the committee's work is delivering results that should scare every American and move all of us to demand justice.

On the international front, President Joe Biden finally ended what all agreed to be a long and futile war in Afghanistan. It wasn't pretty, but we ended it, and we continue to work to save and relocate those Afghans who assisted us.

We challenged China directly, with economic bans on imports due to it human rights abuses, and we confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin in front of the world instead of praising him in backrooms.

We made strides on the economy. While some worry about inflation and its impact on the economy, American consumers do not appear to be fazed. Mastercard recently reported an 8.5% increase in retail spending for Christmas. Let's not forget: Americans, due to Democrats' relief program, had a lot of extra cash in their pockets and spent it. That's how stimulus is supposed to work.

The Biden administration is now looking at monopolistic industries' role in inflation. Four meat packers that sell nearly all the beef in the country will be investigated for raising prices while supply was short and profits were soaring.

Indeed, it's remarkable we've met the challenges of 2021 without out-of-control civil unrest. That may be a low bar, but crossing low bars can be an achievement when the starting point is in a hole.

A tough year was met with resilience and resolve. For that, we can be thankful.