This was supposed to be our year. 2020 was the year we all got clear vision. We were going to roll up our sleeves, dust off our auras, hydrate our withered psyches.
We had no idea what the universe had in store for us.
My family had just landed from a last minute getaway to Denver. No weather delays meant we’d be home just in time to toast the new year. Mac Daddy had ordered confetti shooters for us to launch at midnight, and champagne was already chilled (We always have a bottle of bubbly in the fridge because reasons to celebrate abound.). Bags dropped, champagne and sparkling cider poured, we settled in to watch the countdown to the new year.
2020.
It had a nice ring to it, and 2020 was just made for those kitschy glasses. The year promised to be brimming with hope, optimism, and joy. How naive we were. The storyline of 2020 could not be concocted by all the brightest screenwriting minds in Hollywood and Bollywood combined.
This year has proven to be the embodiment of fury unleashed. I don’t even remember how to feel hopeful, and that is soul crushing. The year stands naked, in its obvious lessons. So much of all we know and value is teetering on collapse. There are the obvious issues of health and financial security, but what about the underlying evil that lurks among us? Put simply, we don’t care about each other. The concept of community is fading, imperceptible at some junctures. What a selfish, provincial outlook we have as a people. Our rugged, bootstrap individualism has broken us, and we are a sham to the world.
The road to healing and repair begins with each of us at a grassroots level. One vote in November will not be the etch-a-sketch shake we need. Politicians, especially the ones who benefit from systems of oppression, are not our salve or salvation. Fixing a broken system isn’t good enough. We must build anew. For too long we were blinded by progress and prosperity. And now, this most desperate of unimaginable years, 2020 has pulled back the shadows on all that ails us.
The question is, will we open our eyes to see?