Credit: Getty Images/sesame

One year ago Saturday, the United States declared COVID-19 a national emergency. After half a million-plus deaths, our own homes becoming virtual prisons, and headlines involving masks, hoaxes and toilet paper, we are beginning to crawl from the wreckage and squint hopefully into a brighter future.

What have we learned? One thing seems clear: If you had any problems, emotional issues or phobias, the pandemic has made them worse. Friends and relatives who used to seem rational now often seem to have left good judgment in the rearview mirror in their own way.

We have witnessed deranged groups bursting into stores, maskless and bellowing about their freedom, merrily breathing on people. These are the same types that, now that some movie theaters have reopened, can’t wait to get in and scream, "Fire!" Hey, it’s a free country, right?

Then we have those who aren’t out to kill us, except perhaps by hiking our blood pressure. Of course, I’m talking about the self-righteous scolds, the ones you made the mistake of telling you’re going to the grocery store to buy a sandwich and candy bar, and they act like you’re a reckless moron on a suicide mission.

And then we have types like this:

"Murderer!"

I observed as a food delivery guy with his mask not quite covering his nose looked back puzzled at a middle-aged woman screaming this at him after his bike whizzed by her. Of course, being outdoors and riding by for a split second, he had zero chance of infecting her, but I thought better of discussing medical science with the wild-eyed redhead in the smiley-face mask.

Even with vaccines becoming more plentiful and hope on the horizon, some people refuse to be happy, warning ominously about a new strain of the virus from England or Italy or wherever. I get it, but can’t we feel good for a least a moment?

Because the truth is, after this year from hell, we finally have more than a glimmer of hope and an upside to celebrate, as more people get vaccinated and stores and restaurants begin to reopen, as spring approaches. Hooray!

On the downside, the stress of the past year has made everyone totally crazy. Except, of course, you and me.

And I’m not so sure about you.

Playwright Mike Vogel is the author of "New York Attitude: A lifetime New Yorker Defends his City With Humor and Heart."

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