You can tell from the date I began this that I was distracted by the rampage in DC and did not finish.
What I was going to say – and as I feel it today – January 6 was the bursting of the boil, breaking open so we can all see and experience that personal and social explosion.
The boil bursting did not bring an immediate cessation of poison and pain. But an easing has begun, and will continue. So this continuing improvement does not mean the hostility and anger will cease. But it does mean that some people will become more civil, some hate will seep away, people will begin to peel away from the extremes on the many sides of our national convulsion, and head back toward finding a way to work together.
This easing will mean gradual improvements in our governance, and perhaps big improvements in some parts of that governance. Transportation will manage to expand its lane under Mayor Pete, while infrastructure’s path may stay rocky for a while longer. HUD, I feel, is going to be two steps forward, one step back – progress and jerkiness at the same time. I expect big and fast changes at the Centers for Disease Control, and in the Health and Human Services sector in DC, with openness and joy seeping through.
Fiscally, Treasury and the Federal Reserve will quietly do quite wall. The State Department, being more visible and becoming more active around the world, will attract some undue attention from angry folks. But their big worldwide mission may be distracting and harder to target. Anger about the small stuff may dissipate while trying to find a big audience.
Defense looks to be off to an excellent start. And Joe Biden is proceeding calmly, clearly, with good explanations for his moves. He is making it all look easy, reasonable, and helpful. Thank heavens.
Homeland Security and Immigration made lots of awful missteps under the previous administration, and have lots of employees not on the same page with their new bosses. A bumpy road there, which will straighten out, and become reasonable and fair over time. Joe’s new initiatives will go forward, some slowly, some with fights…but they will go forward, pretty steadily.
The Environmental Protection Agency, the great American outdoors, the shale fracking, new windmills and solar panels – it will all be confusing for much of the year, but will change directions from the old path and head into the future.
The healing of the wounds from the pandemic is on an expanding trajectory – the month of May feels like the time when the country opens back up to something very like normal. Restaurants, churches, festivals will not be the same, but they will be back.