20/20 Hindsight

You’ll probably read a lot of year end missives talking about how bad 2020 was, probably because it was really, really bad. Think of the babies born in 2020 who will forever be asked about the year they were born as if they could remember their first year on earth. It will be remembered as a year of challenges and heartache and hopefully a year of solutions. I’m not going to dwell on all the bad things that happened in 2020; I want to look forward, using our perfect 20/20 hindsight to guide us as we venture into 2021.

We found out in 2020 that there really are things that can happen that will bring the whole world to its knees. Hopefully, going forward, we will put more effort into studying these viruses so we can be better prepared.

We found out that trusting our scientists makes sense. As Aaron Burr says in the musical Hamilton, we should “talk less, smile more.” Talking less would have helped us listen to what our scientists were saying, and smiling more would have helped everyone’s attitude as we made our way through the pandemic. Keeping our scientists free from political influence should be a priority going forward. The trust in our institutions that exist to keep us safe has been compromised, we need to rebuild that trust and independence.

We reaffirmed the power of our country’s innovation machine. America has built an environment that enables innovation by limiting government regulations while maintaining government oversight. This balance enabled the creation of a COVID-19 vaccine in less than a year, a feat that was deemed impossible in February. I don’t think it was a coincidence that the first vaccine to gain emergency use authorization was created by a partnership of companies that didn’t accept any funds from the government. They feared at the outset that any government interference would slow their progress, and it looks like they were right. As we look to 2021, our government should realize how powerful America’s innovation machine is and find ways to further encourage innovation . . . finding cures saves lives and saves money.

And finally, in 2020 we found how divisiveness stagnates us -- how it hinders progress. I hope that the new Administration, coupled with narrow majorities in the House and the Senate will require Washington to cooperate. We might even find that less rhetoric and more discussion will produce progress.

I hope that our perfect 20/20 hindsight gives us a clearer vision of how we can move forward in 2021. I look forward to continuing to speak out for seniors. Have a safe holiday and I’ll see you in January.

Best, Thair