Please answer this question: will 2022 bring the end of democracy as we know it?
It is clear that we have become a nation of angry people polarized and paralyzed by an inability to compromise; egged on by opportunistic influencers who are enabled by an unregulated devil we call social media.
Sounds awful but, there is hope.
Winston Churchill said, “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing, after they’ve tried everything else.”
My first prediction for 2022 is that we will try everything else because nothing we have tried in the past five years has worked. Ending the filibuster might be an example of something to try.
On the subject of the economy, inflation will continue until the supply chain problems of 2021 resolve. Supply chain problems will resolve when the oligarchs of industry realize that more product in times of shortage means more profit for the long term.
Income inequality will worsen, which means the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. The “dignity of labor” will become a rallying cry for both major parties during the mid-term contests for Congress, governors and state legislatures.
The evidence is already in. People are quitting jobs in droves and others are demanding fair compensation and respect. Unless management figures this out, we will see a renaissance of the labor movement.
The environment and climate change will become top of mind for an expanding group of people. We cannot ignore fires in the West, tornadoes in the Midwest and floods in the East. We will stop arguing about the cause of these ever-intensifying disasters and start finding solutions.
That trend is why Elon Musk’s Teslas have made him the richest person in the world: he is providing a solution.
Public health concerns will remain top of mind. More and more vaccination-hesitant holdouts will come to the realization that the risks of denial are far worse than the rewards of social responsibility.
Unfortunately, the loss of loved ones and the sanctions imposed by government and employers will be the two main causes of this epiphany.
Despite the efforts of many agony profiteers who thrive on controversy, we will ask ourselves “Why are we here? To what end are we arguing?” As author Phillip Roth questioned years ago, do we want to become a land where everything goes and nothing matters?
Said another way, are wedge issues like regulating assault weapons, creating a vigilante system to regulate abortions, limiting voting rights, leaving financial markets unregulated and allowing drug companies to addict our young people solvable issues only by spite legislation or can we develop compromise solutions?
This columnist is an eternal optimist. The challenges we face are enormous. My glass is neither half full nor half empty, but it is getting closer to full all the time.
We will find new leadership in 2022 and beyond. The perfect leader will emerge, and he or she will combine the attributes of Lincoln, Reagan, Kennedy, Truman and Roosevelt. We will move toward regaining our common vision and purpose in 2022.
My best wishes to all The Graham Star readers and people who put the paper together weekly for a healthy, prosperous and peaceful New Year.
Roger Carlton writes a bi-weekly column for The Graham Star. He can be reached via email, rcarlton57@hotmail.com.