We have just left the month of January. January was named after the Roman god Janus, who had two heads: one looking forward, which meant that he was the god of new beginnings, and one looking backward, which meant he was a god of wisdom. Because, of course, we need to learn from what has gone before, and failure to do so means we end up in a futile cycle of defeat and despair. If, therefore, I were to invite you to identify what one thing would you consider the most significant, important, or noticeable of the year 2021, what would you say?
I guess most of us want to talk about the big stuff: certainly, COVID is alive and well, and all its ramifications. Are vaccine passports the big issue? Or maybe you think the first year of Joe Biden’s presidency is worth much more commentary? Or even, is it international issues such as what China or Russia are doing and the tensions that are building up? Or climate change—does that need addressing? These are all big and important things, but for me, I sometimes think we need a more Sherlock Holmesian approach to reviewing the data.
