Sunday, December 27, 2020
Sunday Reflection: The Lost Year (?)
What will 2020 turn out to be? Is it a lost year?
As I look back, it feels that way. I did not get to see the ones I love as much as I wanted. I wasn't as good a teacher as I hope to be. There were days that I felt nothing really happened. It's kind of a downer to put it all out there, actually.
But objectively, I did get a lot done. I wrote an academic article that probably is the most-read that I have ever put out there. I had two pieces in the Washington Post and another in the Atlantic. I put together a major push for clemency reform at the start of the Biden administration, and The NY Times embraced my plan in an editorial. I led a panel that studied a tough case, and played in a role in his freedom. I found that if you mix up Maple Cheerios and Grape-Nuts, it can be pretty good. I also discovered that if you put eyes on almost any gingerbread cookie, it makes the thing fascinating (or at least weird).
When I was in law school, I was fascinated by the remarkable details on the law school building and the Sterling Library nearby. Both were built in the Great Depression, a terribly grim era. And yet... these beautiful things were created, and the beauty lasted longer than the tragedy.
What, 90 years out, will 2020 have left the world beyond the tragedy and hardship?
