Editorial: Hopes for a new year

The arrival of 2021 does not wipe away the tumult of 2020, but to the extent it represents a fresh start, we offer these wishes for the new year. Some of our hopes might be naive, but we hope for them just the same.

◗ A restoration of trust in public service. It’s good to be skeptical of the motives of those we elect to office—it keeps them honest. But we live in a time when skepticism has morphed into hatred. We long for a return to a political climate in which policy—not personalities—takes center stage, and where the other side is not viewed as an existential threat to our way of life.

◗ Sustained progress in the fight for social justice and economic equality. Was George Floyd’s murder really a tipping point in the quest to effectively address our country’s most chronic problem? It has seemed like it at times. Some of central Indiana’s largest employers rolled out the Indy Racial Equity Pledge in October, publicizing concrete steps they are taking to address racial inequality within their companies and in our community. For the pledge and countless efforts like it, the challenge is in the follow-through.

◗ Renewed faith in science. It was science, after all—not preposterous conspiracy theories—that gave us the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Those vaccines and others that are sure to follow give us realistic hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will end and something resembling life as we knew it will return.

◗ The reemergence of in-person work, school and social interaction. Much has been made of the utility and efficiency of platforms, such as Zoom, that have allowed people to work and study remotely during the pandemic. Some even suggest that remote work should become the norm. But just because we have the technology to do something doesn’t mean we should. It’s easy to calculate the savings associated with giving up most or all of your office space. It’s much harder—but just as important—to put a value on the creative energy and mental health benefits that only come from working and communicating in the same physical space.

◗ The return of a clean, thriving downtown. The downtown that took decades to rebuild after its post-World War II decline will be lost if people don’t return to work, sporting events and conventions. For anyone who doesn’t think they have a personal stake in downtown’s success, it’s easy to look the other way. But downtown is the economic heart of the city and central Indiana. And our region is the economic engine of the entire state.

◗ More help for the homeless. Sure, their presence on the streets is a drag on downtown, but allowing them to create camps in public spaces shouldn’t be mistaken for humane treatment. Compassionate intervention helps everyone in the long run.

◗ More creativity of the sort demonstrated by our sports and tourism leaders in their pitch to host the entire 2021 NCAA men’s basketball tournament in central Indiana—and by state and city leaders in convincing Elanco Animal Health to locate its headquarters at the old General Motors stamping plant site just west of downtown. Both are reminders that challenge breeds opportunity.

We hope for more of the latter in 2021.•

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