Giving thanks

Most of all to you

I have historically been terrible at this kind of thing, but my New Year’s Resolution for 2020 was to try harder to work on being grateful. Naturally I’d halfway forgotten about the whole project midway through February but I still remembered enough of it to be able to reconnect with that idea when the pandemic really hit the United States in early March.

And I have to say I think that’s the thing that’s kept me sane and functional during this very challenging year — remembering that while I have certainly been inconvenienced by 2020 I’m also in a very fortunate position compared to most people.

So I’m thankful this year for the health care workers on the front lines and the vaccine researchers and the people who finally got the toilet paper supply chain figured out. But also for the millions of ordinary people who unlike me don’t get to do their jobs remotely, and have been staffing the retail stores, cooking and delivering the food, fixing people’s broken plumbing, delivering babies, and doing all the other stuff that makes life go on. It’s extraordinary how much has not been disrupted during all this and how many people worked to make it happen. It’s also extraordinary how much focusing on remembering to be thankful has actually made me happier, so thank you to the person who suggested that.

Now that I’m less bound by the weird formalisms of most media organizations, I should also say plainly that I’m thankful for all the people who worked to make Donald Trump not be president anymore. That was very important and a lot of people worked on the project — giving time or giving money, putting up a sign, talking to friends, or even just keeping their own ego in check — and it worked.

Thank you of course to everyone who bought One Billion Americans and even more thank you to everyone who talked about it or tweeted about it or posted on Goodreads or whoever else.

But most of all thank you to people who’ve read and subscribed to Slow Boring — I’d been wanting to do this for a while but also terrified to do it. You all have made it fun and viable for the long hall, and I am in your debt.

Then last but by no means least, I am thankful for Marc Novicoff who started this week as our first researcher/California Bureau Chief/intern. He’s been working behind the scene for a few days and you should see him around the comments sections. Gonna let him introduce himself before everyone digs into the turkey.

Meet Marc Novicoff  

Hello! My name is Marc Novicoff. I’m a junior at Dartmouth College majoring in history and economics, focusing on African history and development economics. Right now, I’m on a gap year living in Los Angeles, where I was born and raised. At school during normal times, I work as a research assistant in economics, play sports (mostly soccer and ping pong) with my friends, and help mentor some kids from a nearby town. Most relevantly, I’m the editor-in-chief of the Dartmouth Political Times, which has allowed me to write articles about healthcare reform, universal basic income, racial politics, college athlete pay, and other cool topics. It’s also allowed me to get the chance to meet and edit students with whom I disagree, from leftists to libertarians to pro-Trump-conservatives. I’ve worked as a camp counselor, a historian’s research assistant (on the early American frontier), and most recently as an intern for the International Rescue Committee working to distribute rent assistance grants to Afghan refugees. I’m really excited to be working for Slow Boring, and I hope I can help make the blog even more worthy of your subscriptions.