Let’s take a stock off 2021
It started with high hopes
Vaccines ready to go to war,
Covid 19 will be on the ropes

Soon the mood changed on Jan 6th
Trump & cronies incited insurrection
White mobs ran over the Capitol with
anger and rage about “stolen” election

What are the odds that events in two
successive years will grace history?
Onset of a pandemic in 2020, followed by
insurrection – a blot on nation’s tapestry

It was sheer pandemonium, chaos, and fear
Mob openly chanted “hang Mike Pence”
Congressmen and women ran for cover
Still, Trump labeled anger as “common sense”

Regrettably vaccination too got politicized
Anti-vaxers spread patently false information
A sure-fire way to defeat Covid-19 quickly
became hostage to politics & abrogation

Irony of all irony, more Americans
died of Covid-19 in 2021 than in 2020
This is when multiple effective and safe
vaccines were available aplenty☹

Medical works feel tired and demoralized
for being forced to put their lives on the line
to take care of unvaccinated boneheads
that 1 of 5 left the field is not a good sign

IPCC issued another climate report
Rating the threat level as “code red”
It is hard to be optimistic; change is hard
Required actions, no one to spearhead

George Floyd’s murderer, Derek Chauvin
got convicted of taking George’s life
Rest assured, the drama is far from over
Chauvin has appealed his conviction

History shows that it is easy to persuade
a typical Jury in favor of Whites & cops
Efforts to reform criminal justice system
to achieve racial “equality” have been flops

A point* doesn’t make a trend, an aberration
Let’s celebrate, yet hold our applause
The almost white jury deserves thanks
and merits our nod for upholding laws**
(* A policeman’s conviction in Ahmad Aubrey trial)
(** make it two – Duante Wright’s murderer also)

Chaotic withdrawal of US from Afghanistan,
a sad commentary on America’s competence
Afghan president left country to fend for itself
failure to plan became America’s comeuppance

Senator Manchin refused to support
President’s Build Back Better act
That one senator can torpedo a President’s
agenda is not fiction but a fact

Even billionaires couldn’t keep the
flame of love lit “till death do us apart”
Unlike Gates, Bezos had his eyes on
a TV personality for a fresh restart

Rich got richer; wealth inequality grew
Inflation hit 6%+ pinching household budget
Housing cost went from insane to more insane
Blue collar wages grew, but not enough to offset

Staples Center became Crypto.com arena
Investing in Crypto got as easy as stocks
Dreams of becoming Crypto millionaires
John & Jane Does got off the blocks

NIMBY is alive, well and thriving
Maine voters rejected transmission lines
for green power from Quebec to Massachusetts
Gas companies led campaign had sinister designs

Sports world got knocked off the perch
No more slave wage to a student athlete
Naomi and Simone made bold statements –
mental health will no longer take a back seat!

Trump got banned from Facebook & Twitter
This left him grumpy and even more bitter
Now he is leading an effort to launch
“Truth Social”- alternate Facebook & Twitter

Supreme Court Justices on a campaign
to assert they are non-political
The mere fact that they decided to,
proves that they are being hypocritical!

Texas passed a novel anti-abortion law
Its legal framing is a creative novelty
State is not involved, citizens can sue
the “providers” and collect a bounty

Republican refusal to support Jan 6 investigation
a calculated move to please Trump’s base
Doing what’s right is for the “losers”
Whatever helps them win, they will embrace!

I am afraid I am seeing the beginning of
the end of American democracy
The signs are unmistaken and every where
To be replaced by fascism and theocracy

It was not all doom and gloom
Japan hosted the Olympics with grace
Stands were empty, no cheers or boos
Alas, Olympics locals didn’t embrace

God save our beautiful land.
Let’s hope for a better 2022!  We deserve it!!

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The following links will take you to a more comprehensive discussion of the events in 2021 categorized as follows:

2022 in rear view mirror – Appendix I
– Supreme Court & Politics
– Corporation and Labor
– Money & Economy
https://www.rhymingprose.com/2021/12/30/2021-in-rear-view-mirror-appendix-i/

2022 in rear view mirror – Appendix II
– Corona Virus
– Climate
– ports
– Potpourri
https://www.rhymingprose.com/2021/12/30/2021-in-rear-view-mirror-appendix-ii/