Contemplating the beginning of a new year, I kept thinking of The Who lyric, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” There is too much that appears unpleasantly familiar about the infant 2023.
COVID-19 — a virus that is now four years old — is surging and many people have resumed wearing masks. What has changed is, with a few exceptions, there are no mask mandates, and their absence has dialed back the political heat. How effective masks really are does not matter — if you feel safer, do it, and you might be right. Some people scoff at mask wearers as being irrationally cautious, but a more generous attitude is some people have compromised immune systems for any number of reasons, and with the possibility that a mask can offer an ounce of protection, go ahead and wear one.
Of course, what has changed COVID-wise from four years ago is the availability of vaccines. I had the first two shots, then two boosters, but people who do not want to get vaccinated, fine with me. It’s your life. There is the argument that we don’t truly know the long-term impact (if any) of the vaccines. That is a consideration when you’re 18 or 40, but my concern is not dying of COVID now, not what might happen in 20 years when I’ll be, one way or another, beyond caring.
Tripledemic, really? I long for the good old days when we had just one killer virus to worry about.
What also has not changed is the middle-school crush the media continues to have on Donald Trump. Enough already; the man’s been out of office for two years and the only way he’s coming back is if he keeps receiving all this unwarranted attention. Check out the cover of the latest New York magazine which portrays the former president sitting alone at a restaurant table and the headline reads, “Party of One.” Trump is the old cranky uncle in the attic who makes a noise from time to time and it’s okay to ignore him. Nowadays, he is the subject of more coverage on CNN and MSNBC than he is on Fox. To borrow from Gerald Ford, “Our long national nightmare is over.” Get over it, let’s move on. After all, now we have Elon Musk for the media to gush about.
Some might say that Trump has to be held accountable for the deadly insurrection of two years ago. Well, he has been. The final report of the January 6 Committee is thorough and damning. There will be more revelations about his financial shenanigans and possibly a prosecution or two. History will judge him very harshly and his legacy will ultimately be a debate over who was the worst U.S. president, Donald Trump or Millard Fillmore or Warren Harding. Can’t wait for his next batch of digital action figure cards, though.
We’re still at war, but it’s in Ukraine, not Afghanistan. The U.S. does not (officially) have boots on the ground in Ukraine, but it’s still us against the Rooskies, like it’s been since 1945. Yes, I, too, am appalled by the amount of money being spent to wage this war. And I’m a tad uncomfortable with my support for it: If Ukraine falls, there will be a domino effect on eastern Europe as Putin seizes more territory. Wasn’t that the justification of the Vietnam War? Stop the commies in their tracks? I don’t have a solution to share. I do believe that people who were upset with the way we fled Afghanistan will be exponentially more upset if we abandon Ukraine, and we’re seeing images of civilians shot in the streets.
We still have not mounted a World War II-like campaign against climate change. There has been some progress and there could be enough scientific advances in the next few years to buy us some time, but the world keeps baking. Last year was not as bad a wildfire season in the United States, but water sources in the Southwest are drying up. Literally, in Arizona, for example, drinking water wells are coming up empty yet subdivision applications keep being submitted to local planners. Nature is at war with us and so far we’ve mostly turned the other cheek.
It is mildly amusing how little has changed culturally. Being released soon will be “Indiana Jones 5” with Harrison Ford, “Expendables 4” with Sylvester Stallone, and maybe “Aging Bull” with Robert DeNiro. We’ll see tours by the Rolling Stones, The Who, and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, plus there might be a Kinks reunion (not that many people sought one). On television, there are now so many Duttons in Montana that I hope Kevin Costner is getting paid by the family member. Kanye, Kardashians, Taylor Swift, Harry and Meghan — the same people are making the same gossip headlines. Can we at least get some fresh scandals in the new year?
Locally, people keep talking and writing about affordable housing and the East Hampton Airport and very little happens. I suppose the airport can be closed and the property be used to construct a large affordable housing complex, and that would kill two birds with one stone.
What is new about the new year is I am one child less and one grandchild more. Being a year older is not new, but seems more important now. Next month, I will be the same age as my father was when he passed away. However, I’ve mostly taken after the O’Brien side of the family and when my mother died in 2019, she was just a couple of months shy of her 92nd birthday. Nonetheless, accompanying the act of hanging a new calendar on the wall are thoughts of aging and mortality.
I was struck by a short passage in the novel “Slow Horses” by the British writer Mick Herron: “The scary moments had won. Which sounded like a definition of aging, to Catherine. The scary moments had won.” I think we all wage that battle against the scary moments, especially those of us who have learned there really can be a monster under the bed. Perhaps the best thing about a new year is it is a fresh opportunity for peace.
Tom Clavin lives in Sag Harbor and is the author, with Bob Drury, of “The Last Hill.” Go to tomclavin.com for more info.
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