Jan. 1, 2020, dawned bright and clear. So it seems at least in retrospect.
Few would have chosen those adjectives at the time. “Dark and murky” would have seemed more like it. The United States and Iran were on the brink of war. North Korea threatened to produce new nuclear weapons. Australian forest fires raged. Hong Kong was paralyzed — or animated — by mass and swelling protests against Chinese rule. Protesters worldwide drew inspiration, poured into the streets, put arbitrary and oppressive governments on notice. Democracy was reviving.
Where would it end? In freedom, or in bloodbath? No one knew.