This week in Viewpoints, we take a look at some of the stories that highlight how 2021 is definitely not the year that morning comes back to America or we return to normal.
First, a longer Viewpoint will likely be out later this week breaking down this very topic, but in the meantime CNET can break down the recent Wall Street goings-on for those of you who, like me, regard stock spreadsheets like ancient Greek manuscripts. In one word: Gamestonk!
Many media outlets have spun the GameStop short squeeze in nearly every conceivable direction. Is it economic populism and Occupy Wall Street 2.0? Is it right-wing extremists (who apparently are under every nook and cranny in this country and responsible for every social ill between the military-industrial complex and milk spoiling too quickly)? Is this basically not affecting Wall Street at all? We’ll see. But for my money, the short squeeze phenomenon represents just the beginning of a potentially effective (and lucrative) tool of class warfare allowing the working class to fight back against the financier class. I certainly don’t feel bad for the hedgies.
In other news, the NYT’s editorial board pleads that we not fence in the Capitol. Doing so would “diminish” the building’s symbolic status as a beacon of democracy. They are commenting on the bizarre and largely unnecessary move that federal officials have taken by maintaining National Guards troops in the capital long after the Inauguration and leaving militarized barriers in place.
The fact that the Capitol was fenced in to begin with was the real blow to its status as a symbol to democracy. If the Capitol Police had been better-staffed on Jan. 6, we wouldn’t be having to listen to people bleat about the moral imperative to protect our democracy, and we hopefully wouldn’t have a capital as militarized as downtown Baghdad. But don’t pay attention to that mostly-empty Inauguration attended by flags and ringed by soldiers and barbed wire. I’m sure it’s business as usual up there on the shores of the Potomac.
Finally, for a little bit of local news, Tennessee saw more gun purchases in 2020 than in any other year, according to The Tennessean. Now I have lived in Tennessee all my life and I found it frankly shocking that we could somehow fit more guns into our houses, but by gosh, y’all have done it and I’m proud.
The spike in gun sales across the country over 2020 was a minor story that has some peaking their heads up in alarm. Given the startling amount of violence that occurred over this year, political or simply criminal, many Americans are discovering that old adage about a good guy with a gun first hand. I don’t think a populace that is armed to the teeth is a particularly good thing, even though I consider myself pro-2A. Fundamentally, this isn’t a sign of more people being comfortable owning firearms. It’s a sign of more people being afraid that other people from their community might literally try to kill them. That doesn’t instill confidence in me, I don’t know about you.
So keep your eyes peeled heading into 2021; it’s still a rough world out there. Thankfully, at least now we can say… hindsight is 2020.
Image Credit / MemeZila.com
