Opinion: Things we are set to love and loathe in 2021

As we leap into a new year after finally farewelling 2020, there are things to look forward to, and others not so much, writes Kylie Lang.

THINGS TO LOVE IN 2021

Kindness, hope spring eternal

If 2020 taught us anything, it is that the human spirit is remarkable. From the deadly bushfires to the immense personal losses incurred by a pandemic, Queenslanders have rallied to help each other and find ways forward. The outpouring of support to those who have suffered most has not only been a silver lining in an otherwise bleak year but has better placed communities to face whatever 2021 brings. Yes, it will be uncertain but kindness, like hope, will help get us through.

Less Donald Trump

It’d be too much to expect him to disappear, but the fact most Americans have seen the light and want it shone elsewhere augurs well for Joe Biden’s presidency. We can expect better news – as opposed to “fake news” – and while Trump will persist in his daily diatribe of egoistic nonsense, ignoring his record of incompetence in public office and in business, Americans will realise how lucky they are he’s exited the White House, albeit without a shred of class. Who knows what will become of him? As Yascha Mounk, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, writes in The Atlantic: “By 2024, he could be bankrupt, sitting in prison, or in very poor health. But even if he is in a position to run for the Republican nomination, he won’t necessarily win … the odds that Americans will grow bored with the ever more histrionic antics of the sore loser they just kicked out of office are pretty good”.

President Donald Trump delivers a New Year's Day video address. Picture: Twitter

Appreciating Queensland

It might have taken a pandemic, but we’ve learned how good it can be to holiday at home, enjoy Queensland wine (yes, really), and get out into the abundant green spaces in our cities and towns. Families riding bikes is a lovely memory of lockdown in my ’hood because I rarely saw it before. In 2021 let’s cherish the moments that made us smile and keep doing what helped us appreciate how good life can be in the Sunshine State.

Quiet-achieving scientists

So the brilliant minds at The University of Queensland had to abandon clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine, but that does not diminish the work they, and others around the globe, are doing to fight deadly viruses and infectious diseases. Beavering away in labs, typically on a shoestring’s funding, they serve the greater good, in stark contrast to show ponies on social media who serve themselves and peddle quackery and dangerous theories. Chef and anti-vaxxer Pete Evans is among those who should fade into the ether and let the real experts shine.

THINGS TO LOATHE IN 2021

Political smokescreen

The Queensland Government led by Dr Jeannette Young should be congratulated for containing the spread of coronavirus, but the Queensland Government led by Annastacia Palaszczuk should ditch the smokescreen provided by the pandemic and address its appalling record on key social issues such as child safety and unemployment (a headache well before COVID-19), and take solid action to revitalise a stricken economy, action that excludes appearing before the cameras with “recovery plan” documents strategically tucked under suited arms. Wishful thinking.

More Meghan and Harry

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who by now should be the Markle-Windsors or simply the Meghans, persist in seeking public adulation despite professing a need for privacy. Locking in deal after deal, their latest with Spotify (said to be worth $53.2m) in which they babble on with other privileged people, including their toddler son Archie and Sir Elton John, is nauseating. Meanwhile, the struggle for common folk to find jobs and recover from an annus horribilis is real – and pithy podcasts from defected royals who still want fame and its trappings won’t help a jot.

Do they want privacy, or publicity? It’s hard to tell with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Picture: Toby Melville/Pool/AFP

Opportunistic crime rise

With police away being abused by hot heads at the QLD-NSW border, cue a rise in crime. That’s how one pundit explains the spike in supermarket theft. Meanwhile, the National Retailers Association says the pandemic has spawned gang activity, where one criminal provides a distraction so others can take goods to sell on the black market. As for grubs who terrorise neighbourhoods and steal cars, a growing problem in Brisbane’s better suburbs according to police, they’re not worried about consequences if caught … because there are none. A slap on the wrist and they’ll be back at it, breaking into homes to steal keys and flipping the bird at security cameras, for shits and giggles.

No overseas travel

Even if we hadn’t planned on leaving the country, the fact we can’t is a sour point. No one likes to feel trapped, even when it’s for our own safety, and we Australians love to get away. We are the second most well-travelled population in the world, according to a 2019 study by travel site Agoda.com. The average Aussie has visited 10 countries, eclipsed only by the Brits, who’ve ticked off 12. But look how that turned out in the pandemic. While the Morrison Government banned us from leaving Australia (without an exemption) in March 2020, Britain relaxed its rule in July, letting people holiday abroad for the summer. It tightened restrictions last week, as the death toll continues to climb. Be grateful we live here.

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