Year in Review: Washington Wrap

On Every Front

America at the close of 5780 is a nation still ravaged by a pandemic, torn apart by violent clashes borne of racial tensions, and struggling to rehabilitate its economy. Many of the festering ills of American society have burst to the surface during this past year. This is supposed to be a festive issue of the magazine, but let’s admit it: This has been a year most of us would prefer to forget.

So many people have lost friends or relatives. Others are out of work or have had to close their businesses. The economy showed signs of recovery in recent weeks, encouraged by the optimistic view that the worst is behind us and a vaccine is not far behind. But millions are still unemployed and there’s no guarantee that they will rejoin the workforce anytime soon. While the stock market seems to be bouncing back, the economic ramifications of this crisis will surely remain with us for a long time to come.

Police shootings of a number of black civilians and the violent rioting that followed have exposed the fact that America is a divided nation. Entire segments of the country don’t talk to one another and perceive each other as enemies, not partners.

And yet another conflict, between the United States and China, has intensified as well as diversified this year. What began as a trade war, fought with limited success, morphed into something more deadly with the outbreak of the pandemic. Many Americans blame China for the coronavirus; senior government officials, following the president’s lead, call it the “Wuhan virus” and have even alleged that the virus was laboratory manufactured and unleashed on an unsuspecting world.