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If
you’re reading the column, that means you survived COVID-19 and
that you still have some wits about you. What a year! The forced
isolation severed us from our critical support systems which we
depend on for love, compassion and advice.
Last
year is behind us but it is unforgettable. The country endured the
most openly corrupt and divisive administration in modern times. Our
resilience and sanity was tested with the worst pandemic in 100
years. We discovered that our planet is deteriorating at a much
faster rate than previously predicted. Some Christians likened it to
the end-of-the-world scriptures in the Bible but all of what we’re
going through has been created by mortals.
I
like to think of myself as tough and unbending. Experiencing COVID-19
in action on top of all the political drama got to me. I lost friends
and family to the pandemic and to drug overdoses. I admitted my
vulnerability and signed myself up for a meditating and breathing
class to learn some new coping skills. I’ve been doing a lot of
deep breathing and chanting.
We
have been profoundly affected in ways that are still being revealed.
We took to the streets to make our voices heard, to defend our
humanity and to save this semblance of a democracy. These fights kept
me going during 2020 along with other acts of courage and compassion.
I
was especially inspired by Black and Brown people fighting for their
very lives and for their dignity. Despite the pandemic hovering
around. Despite the laws and court rulings thrown in their way like
spike strips. Despite the challenges of accessing vital services.
Despite losing jobs and benefits. Despite the pervasive violence all
around. Despite….
The
full depth of trump’s corruption and devastation is unknown at
this point but we’re going to feel these past four years for a
very long time.
Our
task is to intensify the organizing work over this last year and get
to the source of the massive oppression and suffering. Our efforts
must be more intense, more strategic and more collective. We have
learned a lot about ourselves and the government in this time of
crisis. We are a sick nation - weighed down by social disintegration,
political corruption and financial greed.
Our
political agenda must include pathways to hope and healing if we
expect to be/come whole and healthy on both the individual and
societal levels. Many around us sunk into despair and
self-destructive behavior.
Then
there’s the pandemic - growing like an invisible monster in a
horror movie. The delivery of vaccine is woefully short of the
government’s goal of twenty million by the end of 2020. Will it
be as effective as predicted, especially when there’s talk of
cutting the dosages in half? The government can get weapons ready in
short order for military attacks across the ocean but can’t get
life-saving vaccines to people within its continental borders.
I
have confidence in the unprecedented wave of folks who made it to a
ballot box to oust the tyrant in the White House. The millions who
took to the streets to reiterate Black lives will matter. Our mission
is not complete because the struggle for human rights is perpetual.
We’ll have to dig ourselves out of the financial hole created
by the regular capitalist greed and exacerbated by the global
pandemic.
Finally,
there are the 70 million people who voted for trump. These are the
folks who are in lockstep with white supremacy and believe trump is
the chosen one to make America white again. They are not going away.
These folks truly believe trump was robbed of the election and they
will be huge obstacles on the road to democracy and racial justice.
After
braving this stressful year, we welcome the year with a healthy dose
of realism. We know what’s waiting for us in 2021. We who
believe in freedom must embrace the new year with unflinching
determination and the relentless pursuit for transformative change.
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