My initial thought was: Well, I am lucky that my life has improved in some ways, actually. I like to look on the bright side of life. But that is more a consequence of me getting older and more established in my career.
Some things that have worsened:
1. I work in an industry (law) that’s a favorite target of the GOP. “Tort reform,” etc. have hit hard in my state. I am fortunate to have remained employed, but I’ve had to semi-switch practice areas twice over the past 4 years because work was drying up.
2. Climate change continues to worsen and cause more extreme weather events. This bill will come due in my lifetime and those of my children and grandchildren.
3. Covid: This one’s obvious. With better leadership, we could have started to reopen sooner and more safely like other rich countries are doing. Covid has stressed all of us but the President either paints an excessively rosy picture or ignores it completely rather than digging in and doing the work.
4. Right-wing nonsense and fake news has me worried that fascism is really going to take over.
All of these things can be laid at the feet of Trump and, of course, the GOP at state and local levels.
