Dec 17, 2022 5 min read

In 2020 and 2021, our holiday season was bleak on many levels. Because memories are short and gratitude fleeting, this commentary will review what we have survived. Moreover, it will make a case that December 2022 should mark a time for reaffirming yuletide joy. I will also relate two occurrences that reestablished my faith in the holiday spirit.

The Pandemic. In December of 2020, the first vaccines were slow to reach the arms of citizens as the Trump administration focused on the election loss and left the final steps of mass vaccination to the beleaguered states. The overall picture was grim with understaffed hospitals, community lockdowns and school closures. January 2021 became the deadliest month of the pandemic with more than 95,000 virus-related deaths reported in America.

In December of 2021, the country was eager to get back to a normal holiday season. However, the omicron variant was spreading faster than the delta strain. Public health officials urged all Americans to scale back their Christmas plans and stay home to protect themselves and others.

For this holiday season, festive events, travel and family gatherings have returned. While numerous sub-lineages of the omicron variant are circulating, none has been designated as a new variant of concern. Public health services have upgraded the capabilities for quick detection and information sharing. In December 2022, while indoor masking is recommended for the vulnerable, the impact of the virus on our lives is greatly reduced.

The Political Climate. On Jan. 6, 2021, a mob of Donald Trump supporters attacked the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in power by preventing a joint session of Congress from counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the results of the November election. More than 2,000 rioters entered the building, many of whom vandalized, looted and assaulted Capitol Police officers. Five people died either during or after the event.

By December of 2021, 19 Republican state legislatures had passed 34 new laws that made it harder to vote. Lawmakers in four additional states had pre-filed at least 13 bills for the 2022 legislative sessions that would make it harder to cast a ballot. Trump’s Republican allies doubled down on their allegiance to the former president. Many political observers placed the United States on a list of democratic countries that were quickly backsliding into an “illiberal democracy.”

This year, following the November 2022 midterm elections, there is a new optimism concerning the vitality of America’s democratic republic. The voters worked around voting limitations and rejected extreme contenders. Moderate candidates were elected to hold the line against election deniers and authoritarian government.

This December, the losses, legal setbacks and embarrassments to the former president are piling up. At the end of the month, the January 6 Committee will release its detailed report explaining Trump’s insurrection to the American people. Many of the January 6 insurrectionists have been tried, convicted and sentenced to jail.

Larry Maggi’s Christmas Party. The first of my personal holiday shout-out goes to Washington County Commissioner Larry Maggi. As with many other traditional events, the Maggi Christmas Party returned this year after a two-year absence. Make no mistake; this is a political event, filled with Democrats and other individuals who have supported the commissioner over the years.

What makes the celebration unique and heartwarming is that Republicans are invited to share the holiday spirit along with Democrats. The two Republican commissioners were in attendance along with many other reputable Republicans from around Washington County. In Maggi’s remarks to the crowd, he stressed the importance of the county’s political adversaries celebrating the joy of the season as one community dedicated to good government. If only this seasonal bright spot could flourish and be replicated around the country.

My Observer-Reporter newspaper carrier. Newspaper carrier Willard Smith has earned my gratitude and a special acknowledgment this holiday season. I am sure that his job description (if he even has one) is very basic and does not include making his customers happy every time they open the front door to begin a new day. Previous carriers would deliver the paper sometime during the day, somewhere on my property, often requiring a search under porches and shrubbery.

Smith delivers the paper in a timely fashion and on my front porch no matter the weather or time of year. No wet newspapers that are impossible to read. No long searches on a cold morning. No phone calls to the O-R to get a replacement paper.

For Willard “delivery” is not what is most convenient for him. He has formulated his own job description to do the right thing so that he can do his job well. His example could form the basis for a study on how to improve customer satisfaction by learning the purpose of a job, not simply the mechanics. We all know workers like Willard who make a point to go the extra mile. Remember to acknowledge them this holiday season.

There is always the possibility that another virus will send us back to the deepest days of the pandemic. American politics remain fraught with an ugly strain of cultural nativism and unwarranted conspiracy theories. However, we will learn from our past public health and political missteps. In the meantime, individuals from a commissioner to a newspaper carrier give us gratitude.

Enjoy the season.

Gary Stout is a Washington attorney.