The past four years were marked by extremism, violence, and deception.
Americans must find a way to live with those traumas—and with each
other.
On the late morning of Wednesday, January 6, 2021, my partner woke up after an
overnight shift at her hospital. As an emergency physician, she’s been treating
COVID-19 patients from the beginning—but in the wake of holiday gatherings, the
pace of suffering and death sharply accelerated. That week, they ran out of
oxygen, as well as small gloves and N95 masks. The beds in intensive care were
full, and so patients spilled out into other departments.
By
Jeremy Adam Smith
