Mike Hosking: 2020 review – ‘Too many of us turn out to be sheep’

OPINION:

So, a year of learning, to use the vernacular for business. Or a year like no other, if you want to use a cliché.

I say this because this is the year for us, it is time for a break.

I end the year with mixed feelings. I am grateful that we are coming out on the other side of this. There is a long way to go and many, and I think with good reason, think that 2021, in some respects, will be a more difficult year than 2020. But with the vaccine, the end is closer than it was.

I am also grateful that we have done so much better than most. Our size and isolation gave us a result up to this point, which has been much simpler than what many have faced or continue to face. We should be grateful to be “out” and not “in”. So free and without restrictions.

Things are not as bad as they thought, but that’s part of my mixed sense of things.

No, they are not that bad. But that’s just because we had no idea what was going to happen. We made it up and catastrophized everything, so when the calamity didn’t happen, we sigh in relief.

This has been, and continues to be, a huge disaster. There are 150,000 New Zealanders who have lost their livelihoods this year. That sadly seems to have been forgotten too often. As we buy houses, cars, art, and God knows what else, many people have had their years ruined, their lives turned upside down, and their futures more uncertain.

But I am thankful that, unlike so many changes that have been talked about, I think we could have found some permanent things, like moving to the regions and working from home. These are things that will stick. If you’ve reset your life, your priorities, and that change is for the better, then there’s a good thing about a bad thing.

I have mixed feelings about our compliance. Too many of us turned out to be sheep, happy to be shut up, to be told what to do, what to think, and how to act. And we’re still a little mesmerized. There is not enough pressure and questioning of the government’s inaction around borders, vaccines, workers and the various and urgent problems we face.

As a nation, our ambition and aspiration appears to have been undermined.

From a personal point of view, one of the ironies of this year is that our audience has exploded. People wanted to know what was happening, and if you gave news, you were in clover.

I guess ultimately that’s the story for many, right? For some, it actually turned out much better than they could have imagined, literally and figuratively. If that’s you, I’m excited for you.

But didn’t this year put a lot into perspective? Didn’t we find out what was really important? And what was just noise?

There will be more next year, but with less uncertainty. So, a year to look forward. After all, above all, life is what you do.