The coronavirus pandemic has warped all sense of time as we have lurched from Delta to Omicron, and from closings to grand openings, only to swing back again. In the best of times, Americans have an endearing political amnesia that allows us to move past crisis with both a creative verve for future innovations, but also an alarming tendency to unlearn vital lessons. The haze of pandemic exhaustion and a political attention deficit have clouded much of President Biden’s first year in office, obscuring truly historic accomplishments. The ability to break through that miasma will determine the success of critical, outstanding pieces of his agenda and the viability of the Democratic Party’s majority.
Cast your mind back to 1 January 2021. The US was in the throes of the deadliest coronavirus wave. The vaccine rollout was in its infancy and the economy was teetering. The result of the Georgia Senate elections was still in flux. Days later, violent insurrectionists incited by President Donald Trump attacked the halls of Congress. Images of the desecrated chambers and of elected leaders fleeing for their lives are etched in minds around the world. On 20 January, Joe Biden was sworn in as President in a penned-off Capitol that looked like a war zone.
The above excerpt was originally published in The Progressive Post.
Click here to view the full article.