[Noah Smith] Take heart, doomscrollers, America's on the way back
Feb 5, 2021
Last year made it feel as if the US was a nation in steep decline. And in some worrying ways it is. But looking back on 2020, and looking ahead to 2021, there are signs that the country has robust reservoirs of strength and effectiveness that will cause it to outperform the gloomiest expectations. It may not be morning in America yet, but it’s past midnight. The clearest example is the vaccination race. Despite problems with the initial rollout, the US public health system has now found i