A lot of us had bright visions for the new decade ushered in by 2020, before the dark reality became clear in the months that followed, so it’s important to be realistic about expectations for 2021.
Even so, the coming year will require focused attention on the pathway to recovery. For hundreds of thousands of American families, the coronavirus pandemic brought tragedy, and for thousands more, a deep cut in earned income, or the loss of a job altogether.
A clear-eyed look ahead, one that’s informed by the lessons learned over the past year, is a critical step toward a brighter future.
First and foremost: Hawaii has done relatively well with the management of the COVID-19 risk to its people. The arrival of the vaccine does not mean that work is done, of course, particularly with the detection of a new, more infectious coronavirus mutation.
But it does provide a measure of hope, empowerment and gratitude.
Gratitude for the astonishing innovation of medical scientists who produced the vaccine in record-breaking speed.
Empowerment overcoming the helplessness that overwhelmed societies for the last 10 months of a dreary battle with the disease.
And hope that the suffering of so many will begin to ease, and that much of the isolation people have endured will end.
To parlay this hope into a real success will take government and private partners working in close coordination to deliver the relief of the vaccine as efficiently as possible.
The rollout has been halting. Countering that disappointment is belief that wrinkles in the production and delivery systems can be ironed out so that those willing to be vaccinated can access that layer of protection.
The federal relief package — warmly welcomed, belated and modest as it is — should help with this, providing funds to cover vaccine procurement and distribution and other pandemic management costs.
Importantly to Hawaii, so dependent on its small-business economy, the relief aid will be the fuel to keep the recovery going until economic activity can support it fully. Again, the optimistic view is that government learned from the CARES Act, and can make initiatives such as the Paycheck Protection Program an easier fit for business.
Recovery is not only a matter for today’s employers and workers, however: Hawaii has its future generations to consider, and the youth have suffered greatly from this pandemic.
Young children especially have suffered from the loss of the optimal learning environment, with personal contact from the teachers they’ve grown to trust.
Older students, too, have fallen behind in their academic advancement, and their social development as well. A healthy outcome in 2021 would be their reconnection with their peers and teachers, who are key to their ultimate achievement. Hawaii’s future lies in their hands.
And what professional future will their home state offer to them? The islands’ core industry of tourism surely will be a part of it, but the pandemic also has demonstrated that Hawaii’s dependence on it is unsustainable.
The virtual communications compelled by the emergency may have been a frustration for school communities coping with remote learning, but on the whole the technology has been an asset. It’s enabled telemedicine to a greater degree, and it also could expand employment opportunities to the workforce, who can live here and work in distant locations.
A tourism-based economy surely won’t turn on a dime, but even gradually expanding options are something to celebrate.
And if this look-ahead to 2021 seems exceedingly hopeful, this is a holiday that merits a bit of a rosy glow. Happy New Year, Hawaii.