Normalcy: Pandemic, political unrest finally waned in past year

Schools and most businesses are now open. We see fewer altercations outside stores and on our social media channels.

In many ways, life is returning to normal. After a three-year global pandemic that killed millions of people worldwide, and more than 6,000 in the Rio Grande Valley, and political unrest inspired by an aggressive, confrontational president, most people probably welcome days that largely are uneventful.

That might be how most people remember, and appreciate, 2022.

Certainly, remnants of the stressful days that filled the past few years remain. Some people still wear facemasks in public places but they’re not required, and for the most part they no longer have to endure verbal assault when they do so. The number of violent attacks has fallen and many of the more aggressive politicians were unsuccessful in the November elections.

To be sure, the effects of such politics remain. Donald Trump is running for president again and some people he influenced remain in many positions of power. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have been busing immigrants out of their respective states after the immigrants are processed and released by federal Homeland Security officials, a displacement tactic that doesn’t address the root of our immigration problems.

This and other immigration issues continue to rank high among Rio GrandeValley residents, many of whom are working to ensure that such incidents don’t become part of the new normalcy.

In some ways, normalcy isn’t all good in the Valley. We saw more questionable behavior among public officials, especially in public school districts where bickering dominated several school boards, superintendents resigned or were fired, and one Brownsville school board faced an indictment for nepotism that ultimately was dismissed.

To be sure, we did see some major changes, especially in the political arena where some longtime lawmakers chose not to seek reelection and one ran for another district after post-census redistricting changed his home district. The changes brought the Valley its first Republican Congress members, one on an interim bases and another who will take office in January.

For some 2022 was a year of achievements. Perhaps most noteworthy is the deserved recognition of two Valley icons, longtime educator Dr. Juliet Garcia and civil rights champion Raul Yzaguirre, who this summer were awarded our nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Sports fans likely are celebrating the prospect of having Division 1 college football in the Valley, after students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley voted to raise their own student service fees to support the program.

Other achievements include the RGV Vipers NBA G League championship and the McAllen High School Mariachi Oro’s state championship. In a way even those accomplishments can be considered normal; for the Vipers it was their sixth championship series and fourth title, both league records, and McHi’s crown was its seventh in nine years.

The new year begins with hopes for more achievements and progress for the Valley. Mostly, however, we share the hope that any surprises we see in 2023 will be happy ones.