As I start to write this it’s New Year’s Eve and by the time I post it will be in the new year. And like most people, I’m thinking about the last 12 months and what I want for the next. The year was dominated by the pandemic and the election. They are forever intertwined. In looking back, it occurred to me that they both were exacerbated by the same problems – lack of compassion, lack of empathy and lack of civility. I didn’t want to write about COVID or the election again, but you can’t write about the last 12 months without either.

It’s hard to know where to start, but I guess we start with the election since it started before the new year. I think we forgot that the political cycle actually began prior to 2020. The Democrats had every name in their ranks running for office. Too much and not enough. No one stood out and it became a survival of the fittest more than a motivational message. And in the end, we had a repeat of the 2016 election. The known name against the reality television star – both aging white men who represented a generation that refuses to let go of power.

By the time election night arrived, most were saying they didn’t know what to expect but the truth was they thought the Democrats would have the blue wave that they had expected two years before in the mid term elections. As the night wore on, it became clear that the expectations had been wrong. In the end, we had a Congress not much changed from when the night started and a presidency shrouded in doubt. As the days wore on and the results were certified, we started to see just how divided we have become. Instead of trusting the process, large groups of people (including our president) started to believe in conspiracy theories that had no basis in fact. And while some claimed to not understand how 70+ million people voted the way we did, I came to one conclusion. Congress is truly a representation of the society it has been elected to govern.

During this same time frame we were dealing with a pandemic that has been mismanaged on a global scale. And while we have argued over masks, stay at home orders, lockdowns, vaccines and the validity of the numbers, we lost more than just a “normal” life. We lost our humanity. We have forgotten how to disagree and have an open minds. We forgot how to have empathy and consideration for others. And we hid this behind numbers – less than 1% mortality rate, only 5% will have a severe case of the virus. As if the numbers didn’t represent actual people. Instead of caring about our neighbors and community, we argued for the right to drink and carry on as normal. We used to be a country where we cared if one person died. Thousands of dead and we’re still arguing about whether or not we can work out in a gym or hang out at the bar. If we’ve learned nothing else from this pandemic, we’ve learned that as a society we value money above all things.

Individually we said all the right things. But collectively we failed. We forgot that the numbers represented people. People that were grandparents, parents, sisters, brothers, friends and neighbors. But until the virus hits close to you, then you don’t fully understand. I had a friend come down with the virus and I can tell you that I wasn’t thinking about the numbers. I was terrified. I’ve lost a friend before to a health crisis and I was in no way ready to lose another. The statistics did nothing to comfort me. I didn’t rest easily until I knew they were on the mend. And during the wait I learned of a former co-worker that passed away and heard stories from friends working in hospitals struggling to care for the sickest among us. And yet, when I turned to the news the focus was primarily on the economy and what we weren’t allowed to do. So focused on the individual that we forgot to look outside ourselves.

This country used to be great. When times got hard, we pulled together and helped each other. We demanded leaders that truly led and planned for the bigger the picture. The government represented the kind of country and society we were. And now? Now we have a government that cares more about themselves then the people they represent or even the democracy that created their position in the first place.

And during the pandemic, we saw poverty and violence increase. Domestic violence and child abuse both on the rise. I was going to cite statistics but realized that the numbers don’t matter. Any increase is another sign of failure. We had a bombing on Christmas Eve in Nashville and multiple mass shootings since the 1st of the year. It’s only the 3rd day of the new year. But we don’t care about that because it’s a daily occurrence and the numbers aren’t great enough to warrant any news outside of local. More signs of a failed society.

We have allowed foreign countries to hack our systems. Social media dictates what we see and the messages we receive. We fight harder to have hate speech counted as free speech than we do for our rights to privacy. We fight for our right to own a gun but won’t fight to make sure that internet is provided for the education of our children.

As we move forward in this new decade, I think that we will look back at 2020 as the year of our failure as a country and as a society. The beauty of new years is that it’s a time of change. An opportunity to start over and make corrections. And while real change will take time, if we’re lucky we can say this was it. This was the moment that change started. I have to believe that’s what we will say. Faith in the present and hope for the future.

READING never gets old –

One of my goals for the year was to get back to reading. I’m happy to say that I’ve read 3 books to start the year. The first was titled, “The Slave Across the Street” by Theresa Flores. It’s a true story about how a teenager from a upper middle class family in the suburbs ended up as part of a human trafficking ring. Not a pretty story. And not because of drug abuse. It was eye opening. I’ve had it for some time, but have never gotten around to reading it until New Year’s Day. I’m not sure why I chose that book to be my first of the year, but I think it’s part of my quest to be more aware. It certainly gave me something to think about.

The next 2 books I read were the first two books in a trilogy by a new author in the horror/supernatural genre. “Pivot” and “Perish” by L.C. Barlow was a good read. Story was fully developed and the characters were interesting. Not quite as dark as a John Saul novel, but still had the same feel of one of his books. I like horror books with a hint of the supernatural. Not sure what that says about my psyche. Anyway, very good books if you’re into that genre. I’m currently trying to decide what’s next on my reading list.

FAMILY GAME NIGHT –

We’ve always been a family that played games. We had game night when I was kid. Board games, card games, party games, etc. You name it and we’re pretty much up to trying it. I remember the days when the games were simple like Candy Land and Hungry Hungry Hippos. And I still think Ants in the Pants is the best. As an adult the games have gotten a little more complicated. And I have to give kudos to YouTube for encouraging the game addiction. It’s so much easier to spend $60 on a game when you can see a video review or basic game play take place. Mansions of Madness is still my favorite, but Outer Rim and others are great fun. I prefer the cooperative games because it promotes the idea of we win or lose together. Left to our own devices my brother and I would spend most of our game time trying to annihilate each other. Competition can get pretty fierce. If you haven’t instituted a family game night, you should give it a try. There’s games for all tastes and ages. And it’s a wonderful alternative to gathering around the television.

FINAL THOUGHTS –

I’m in the process of rediscovering my love of music and learning. There will be more about that in upcoming posts. And while I don’t write on a schedule there will be more posts coming at more frequent intervals. Time to shed the baggage of last year and start fresh.

Happy New Year!