It’s Thanksgiving and with that comes an expectation of uplifting editorials reminding us that we should be grateful for what we have.

Well, this isn’t one of them.

To be clear, I am extremely grateful that my family has remained relatively unscathed in what has been an extremely difficult year for our communities and our country. We have been blessed with continued employment – Reminder Publishing has actually expanded twice this year – and we have maintained good health overall.

But recognizing that my good fortune has not been the story for many with nearly 200,000 cases of COVID-19 and close to 10,500 deaths, and 1.5 million unemployment claims filed since March 15 in Massachusetts alone, preaching about how we should all be thankful feels like nothing more than tone-deaf pandering.

Though there are encouraging signs as we approach year’s end, the truth is, things are going to be difficult for some time. The turn of the calendar from 2020 to 2021 isn’t going to open some sort of magical portal that will make our struggles dissipate. Truth be told, it could still get worse before it gets better.

We are still in the midst of one of the worst economic downturns in recent memory and that is not likely to change anytime soon. Coronavirus shutdowns and restrictions have crippled large sectors of the economy and it remains to be seen whether we will experience another round as the winter sets in and a second wave continues to sweep over the country. The World Health Organization has warned against widespread shutdowns, noting they are devastating to the economy. However, they become necessary when the very basics of coronavirus prevention are being ignored. It’s easy to understand why some have become wary or have let their guard down, but incomprehensible to me are the people who continue to ardently believe the virus and its response are merely a hoax and/or a push for greater government influence, as if the global scientific community has a stake in such an effort. Understood even less are those who just can’t be bothered because of the inconvenience.

Now, I am not at all suggesting people should lock themselves away, but so long as people refuse to wear masks and responsibly distance, the prospect of tightening restrictions becomes more and more real.

While there has been a focus by many (understandably) on a second round of stimulus checks, federal foot-dragging on coronavirus relief bills has been debilitating to state and local government budgeting. This stands to have a distinct and negative impact on funding for schools, police and fire and human services. While in tough economic times, belt-tightening is responsible and should be expected, the federal government is hamstringing local entities with uncertainty, to the detriment of the citizenry.

News of potentially highly effective coronavirus vaccines that are approaching the point of review for FDA approval is most welcome, but the development and even a go-ahead for vaccinations doesn’t mark the end of the crisis and there is still a great level of consternation regarding planning and distribution. Dr. Anthony Fauci recently said nearly 20 million Americans could receive vaccinations around the end of 2020, but also stressed the need for a national response to coronavirus. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen that. Massachusetts Health and Human Services Director Marylou Sudders said during Gov. Charlie Baker’s Nov. 10 COVID-19 update that there has been no communication from the federal government on vaccine distribution plans since the election. Baker also reiterated the state has received no “guidance, direction or consistent message coming from DC,” regarding coronavirus response planning, adding, “I think it's important for people to continue to work this issue and work it hard and right now that’s not happening.”  

Instead, President Donald Trump has focused his energies on attempting to discredit the election process, undermining this country’s greatest institution. Sowing doubt in our election process is not only self-serving but also dangerous as it is expanding our country’s deep divides – of which Managing Editor G. Michael Dobbs wrote in his column last week.

The president and his legal team have done nothing to illustrate any evidence of widespread improprieties or fraud, but his unfounded allegations of fraud are needlessly sowing distrust in our democratic process. Courts nationwide have thrown out nearly every single lawsuit that has been filed. To quote a local attorney whose legal opinion I respect, “In courtrooms, where they face professional sanctions for unfounded allegations, Trump’s lawyers are not alleging election fraud. Indeed, they are admitting they have no proof that such a thing occurred...” Instead, Trump’s lawyers are resorting to methods like those exercised in Pennsylvania, where they argued in six separate lawsuits that ballots shouldn’t be counted because of the way names and addresses were written on return envelopes (none of those lawsuits were successful).

Meanwhile, officials have outright dismissed the president’s claims. For example, Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who has been in GOP crosshairs, said there were no signs of foul play after an audit of their machines. While his office did report there were significantly more absentee ballots rejected in Georgia than there were in 2018, the fact they were caught is an example of the system’s checks and balances working. The president’s own (now former) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Chris Krebs, along with the Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council and the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive committees, definitively countered the president’s deluge of fraud allegations, stating there was “no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised” and called the Nov. 3 election “most secure in American history.”

In spite of all of this, Trump does not relent. Rather, he and his supporters are clinging to these false allegations, subscribing to the old Seinfeld adage of “It’s not a lie if you believe it.” The longer this drags on, the more difficult the transition becomes, which puts economic and health responses – nationally and locally – in peril of being delayed and ultimately risks American lives. And I believe it will, indeed, drag on.

So I’m sorry I don’t have something more uplifting to say this Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I think we’re in for a very long winter.