Americans have long been talking like things would get better in 2021, but things still look bleak

At some point, 2020 stopped being merely a measurement of time and became a euphemism for suffering.

“I can’t wait for 2020 to be over,” Americans said, again and again and again, because it was easier than listing out the compounding crises or addressing the specific causes at their core.

In repeating the phrase, we postponed catharsis, subconsciously pinning our hopes for feeling better to the arrival of 2021.

Yet when Americans wake up on New Year’s Day, time will have passed, but without bringing solace for their suffering.

The crises the country is facing will remain.

The year began and finished with political division

The year started off in crisis, or what the…