t can all feel pretty bleak. The death toll from coronavirus has raced past 300,000 and may have hit 500,000 by the time everyone who needs the vaccine gets a shot. President-elect Joe Biden warns of a “dark winter” and offers empathy to those with “a black hole in your hearts”. The man he has beaten still refuses to go quietly, continuing to make threats, while possibly planning a rally to announce a second run on Inauguration Day.
And that is just part of it. The climate crisis, ignored or denied for so long, warns us like a beacon fire with each extreme weather incident, of what is in store. Many are broke and out of work, with little chance of being rehired. We can barely speak to each other across the political divide with civility, whether in the street or on social media. Indeed, we are ever more unsure whether those platforms are a friend, or an unregulated menace that does little more than spread disinformation.
