Today is the last day of 2020. Good riddance. We all lived a different life as we hunkered down at home. Did you: Bake bread? Clean closets? Write a novel? You had the time. No more excuses.
Everyone is looking forward to 2021 when we’ll all be vaccinated—eventually—and life will get back to “normal”, whatever that is. But first we need to get through what Dr. Fauci calls more dark days ahead, or a surge on a surge. We need to see the Biden administration finally take over despite the Current Occupant’s stonewalling on transitioning a peaceful transfer of power. We need to see our grandkids. We need hugs.
As snow covers the back yard, and ice is on the roads, we need to be reminded that Spring will come—eventually—and life will go on. Unfortunately, not for nearly 350,000 who have died from COVID and their friends and families. Uff da.
This pandemic has highlighted the disparities that have been not so hidden. Millions are out of work. Food banks have long lines. Racism exists, and minorities cry out for justice when cops kill black people. In the meantime, congress is gridlocked while the people wait for relief.
I am reading a book on the history of America. It is pretty amazing how it all came together, how enlightenment values were codified in our constitution. We could have easily continued to be British colonies, loyal to the king. Slaves were promised freedom if they crossed over to the British side. Many did. Some went to Canada, some back to West Africa. It didn’t work out so well. When I learned American history in high school there was not a focus on how much slavery permeated our culture before and after the revolution. Slaves were counted as three fifths of a person for the purposes of representation, giving southern states an advantage. Of course, this festered into our own civil war when the slaves were eventually freed. Well, kind of. We are still fighting that civil war.
So, as we say goodbye to the pain in the ass 2020, here’s hoping for a better New Year. Here’s hoping 2021 will be an improvement, but we’ll have to work at it.
Bad Randall 