To the Editor:
We all want to start 2023 on a positive note so, given my word limitation, of the many good things that happened in 2022, I offer only five.
Ukraine’s battle for self-determination. Russian President Vladimir Putin predicted near-instant victory when he invaded Ukraine in late February. The extraordinary spirit and relentless determination of Ukrainians was and is astonishing. While they fought heroically, at home their families suffered food shortages, no heat, water, or electricity. Ukrainian President Zelensky received Time magazine’s Person of the Year for his ability to rally the support of the free world in weapons and aid and the recognition that this is not just a regional war.
A global food crisis was avoided. One result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine was collapsed grain exports from Ukraine to people in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Millions of people were starving. Over last summer, the UN managed to get the grain to those nations. The US gave more than $5 billion in aid for food and provided funds for the UN World Food Program. While the problem is not solved, for this year at least the interventions helped save the lives of millions of people.
The American electorate largely refuted election denial and far-right authoritarianism. Many Republican candidates openly and vigorously denied the 2020 election results. Some had participated in the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6. Some were just tawdry sycophants of Trump without any possible redeeming merit as elected officials. Most were rejected by the electorate. But it was just round one of what will be a continuing battle.
The country was introduced to Cassidy Hutchinson and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Two women, of different political parties, who exceeded expectations for their contributions to democracy. Hutchinson, a young staffer in the Trump Administration rejected the advice of her Trump-provided attorney to have a memory problem about January 6 and told the truth. Justice Jackson has already shown in her comments from the bench that she has a clear and deep knowledge of the Constitution and of the real world.
The economy is improving, slowly. The US and world economy was shut down for over a year and it appeared that we were all headed for a depression. But the heart-stopping gas prices are slowly going down. The US government provided financial and other support to keep many households and business afloat. The data to November indicates that more than 4 million American have found employment post-pandemic.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore