Last March, right after our fearless leaders decided to start shutting down the economy because of the coronavirus, I was sitting in a friend’s office.
“If this goes on more than a couple of months, there’ll be rioting in the streets,” I told him.
Little did I know.
A lot of businesses closed – many forever – throwing millions of Americans out of work. Other people were forced to work from home. Schools and colleges were closed or classes were moved online and we were all urged to stay home to protect ourselves and everyone else.
Confusion reigned. At first we were told that only one type of mask blocked virus transmission, then were told that anything was better than nothing. We were also told to wear gloves, and then we weren’t.
Make up your minds, was a commonly expressed sentiment.
The coronavirus COVID-19 has been the bogeyman of 2020. Actually, it’s been one of several. We were all confronted with the specter of a Minneapolis police officer killing a Black man while other officers – and members of the public – watched and did nothing. Well, some did record videos of it.
So many Americans had no jobs because of the shutdowns and then saw police officers who were sworn to “serve and protect” doing neither. It all went downhill from there.
Folks took to the streets and asserted that “Black Lives Matter” – of course they do. But then some demonstrations seemed to be hijacked by others who were out to – I’m not really sure what they wanted. Among other things, they wanted to decide which statues were worthy of public display. A statue of Abraham Lincoln, who gave his life trying to end slavery and save the nation, was torn down in Portland.
Then the wildfires roared across Oregon and other parts of the West.
Overlay all of that with the bizarre presidential election.
Ugh.
2020 is a year most people want to forget, but it has reminded us that our society does need some serious attention to heal old wounds and make the rights guaranteed in the Constitution a reality.
But we also shouldn’t forget that the vast majority of Americans are good, hard-working people. Solid, I believe, is the word. We forget that in September, when wildfires destroyed hundreds of homes in the Santiam Canyon and other parts of Oregon, friends, neighbors and total strangers did not hesitate to help.
We forget that politics – good or bad – do not dominate our lives.
Or, to say the very least, they shouldn’t dominate our lives.
I look at politics as one of the things I want to think about least. In the most recent elections, many candidates sound like those mouthy kids that spoke at eighth-grade pep rallies. Mostly noise and little else.
Instead, I want to think about the beauty that life brings to this planet, about the many good things we accomplish individually and together that far outweigh all that other stuff.
I would compare politics and government to the application on my computer that runs in the background. I want it to run well, and not dominate my time.
We have about a month left in 2020. I’m sure we’ll all make it. I, and everyone else, hope that 2021 will be better. An effective vaccine will wrestle COVID-19 under control, and the activists will decide that
the place to make the biggest difference is
at the ballot box.
After a heart-breaking year like 2020, we all need and deserve a better year ahead.
Carl Sampson is a freelance writer and editor.
