To The End of 2020

I hope you all are having a happy and socially distanced holiday season! As we all eagerly look towards a much anticipated new year, I wanted to jot down some thoughts about this year. Needless to say, we have all become so numb and exhausted by 2020 that it has become the butt of jokes, cynical tweets, and nihilistic holiday cards. In short, it has become one giant eye roll. But I fear that because this year has been so emotionally draining, we have turned to laughing it off rather than fully absorbing what this year has been.

There has been a nearly incomprehensible level of loss and suffering throughout the world and especially here in the states this year. Loss of lives, livelihoods, homes, businesses, and food. We are still, even when vaccines are being shipped to every corner of this country, loosing roughly 3,000 Americans a day. One September 11th a day. We anticipate a bill from Congress that will keep people in their homes (for at least the next month) and that will put some cash into the hands of those that are barely getting by. I’m afraid that due to our country’s glaring lack of leadership, we have been unable to truly grieve as one. To truly come together after a brutal election and mourn for the incalculable losses we have endured.

But many of us haven’t had to endure much this year and for that, we are nothing more than lucky. Those of us who haven’t lost a loved one during this pandemic, who haven’t gone to bed hungry, who haven’t worried about how to afford rent payments, and who haven’t had to look for steady work are simply lucky. If you are so fortunate, please consider donating what you can to a local or national charity or organization of your choice on behalf of those who have bore the brunt of this truly terrible time. For what it’s worth, two organizations I’m happy to say I have some affiliation with is Bloomington, Indiana’s Community Kitchen and the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. I’ve been volunteering during the morning shift at the Community Kitchen since this summer with my partner Max. Even in a small college town like Bloomington, the Kitchen is serving roughly 1,000 meals a day and encampments of folks suffering from homelessness has increased in Seminary Park. This level of inequality existed long before the pandemic and Covid-19 has essentially poured gasoline on an already blazing fire. The ripple effects from this catastrophe will be felt for decades. We need to start building back as soon as possible.

Here’s to 2020, for being the great teacher and forcing us to see what desperately needs to change in our world and to 2021 and onward, when we get what we have learned and put it into action.