2020: We Can See Clearly Now
We pulled the emergency break we didn’t know existed, and in the silence — saw everything.
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It’s June 2020.
We’re a few weeks in and I’m so disgusted my entire being is telling me to turn away. I can’t read it anymore. I can’t see it anymore.
The way we’ve been treating Black people is revolting.
Of course there’s revolt!
I want to turn around and go back to my normal life.
But fuck, my normal life isn’t there anymore. It hasn’t been for three months and there’s no end in sight.
Sight.
Ain’t that the thing with the year 2020?
The veils have been lifted. We can see clearly now.
And crucial side note: that’s what the word “APOCALYPSE” actually means. If you go back to the Ancient Greek origin, “APOCALYPSE” means revelation. Unveiling. Uncovering.
So here we are.
COVID-19 gave us The Great Pause.
It forced humanity to pull the red, emergency break we didn’t know existed. The world slammed to a screeching stop.
Whoa.
I didn’t know we could… do that?
And in that pause, the dust settled and the fog cleared and we were unveiled to ourselves. We could catch our breath, take a look around, and see where we’ve gotten ourselves…
And I think we’re all pretty disgusted with what we see.
We’re rapidly destroying this miraculous, intricate planet.
There’s unfathomable inequality between the haves and have-nots.
Those who are essential workers are ironically treated like anything but.
The ineptitude of Government.
The power of Government.
The misinformation everywhere and all the time.
We can’t even rely on what we’re reading to be true!
The countless lives we’ve lost to this pandemic, leaving even more in mourning.
Some people… won’t even… wear masks?
Oh and: We’ve been murdering Black people in broad daylight for hundreds of years, racism is so built into our society it needs to be purposely dismantled, and… the police force neither serves or protects.
What else can we see? Here in this pause?
The list continues.
Guns. Armed Militia. Unmarked vehicles.
And continues.
A Lebanese chemical explosions. Genocide in China. How we’re watching a catastrophe unravel in our most important institution, the one that educates our children.
And continues.
Children alone in cages. Marches in the streets. Too many people with too little power.
And continues.
The hottest temperature on earth. The worst wildfires on record. Plastic, plastic, everywhere…
It’s a lot, ain’t it?
At this point, it’s helpful to zoom out for a grander perspective:
Great countries fall, new ones rise. Cities are drowned by the sea, species wiped out by asteroids, villages covered in volcano ash. Scientific breakthroughs redefine everything we know. New innovations lead to new jobs. New innovations take away jobs. The tech of the day dictates culture. Once-marginalized groups gain rights. The rich cling to the status quo. The people rise up. The people have power. And artists watch from the sidelines, making sense of it all.
It’s an ebb and flow. A rise and fall, and rise again. It’s the way our spirit breathes.
And right now, we’re in the thick of it.
The times —
They are
a-changing.
We’re at an intense moment, with inequality and public health and climate and political polarization culminating in the long-awaited 2020.
The year the future starts!
And ain’t it a trip that instead of flying cars we got a pandemic that stopped us in our tracks?
2020. Apocalypse. Revelation. Unveiling.
To exit 2020 the same way we entered is a missed opportunity to an embarrassing-th degree. If there was ever a year to grow — as an individual, society, world — this was it.
Our values were tested in their purest sense as 2020 was, literally, about breath. Breath!
It was about life and death.
All year, we were forced to ask: who has the right to breathe? And we had to make that decision ourselves — then watch our friends, family members, coworkers, politicians, and countrymen make that choice too.
What do you think? Do healthcare workers have the right to breathe? Does George Floyd? How about our elders… do they matter? What about the people who bring packages to our doors, stock grocery shelves, and pick fruit from trees? Tall, Black men who like wearing cozy hoodies? Teachers? Those who swear COVID-19 is a hoax?
I’d like to think the answer goes without saying. But… does it? How much of your life are you really willing to give up to save the 56-year-old immigrant who makes sure there’s fresh produce on your grocery shelves? Cuz from what I saw this year… this ain’t so cut and dry, after all.
One freezing night in early winter, I was standing outside with my husband and two friends talking about politics.
We were each trying to express our values, and someone said “It’s simple. You’re either a We person or a Me person.” The simplicity of this thought has stuck with me since, and you’ll find it extends to everything.
Are you willing to make sacrifices for the greater good? Or are your exceptions acceptable because, well, they’re yours?
This is what this moment asks of us. This is 2020. And our answers will dictate what our society becomes, and frankly — if our planet even remains habitable through our lifetime.
We’ve spun ourselves into a crisis, and the only good news is that crises are profound opportunities for review. So as we climb our way out, there are two paths: there’s We, and there’s Me.
“We” sees humans and humanity.
“Me” sees workers and consumers.
“We” sees a planet with finite resources to be shared.
“Me” sees the stuff I “need.”
“We” sees the local community I live in, the small businesses in my neighborhood.
“Me” sees the convenience of a click of a button.
“We” loves thy neighbor.
“Me” probably pretends to but when it comes down to it…
In 2021, we will start to rebuild.
Which means, more than ever, that every one of us has the chance to impact what our society becomes.
Remember how this goes. How societies change. The people rise up. The people have power.
So after this hellish year, when all of our worlds came crashing down, I have just one wish for 2021:
For you to use your voice. Your vote. The power of your purchase. To lead with love. To choose “We” over “Me,” even when it’s hard and it sucks.
Way back in March, we pulled the red, emergency break we didn’t know existed. The world screeched to a halt. We got up, dusted ourselves off, and looked around. There was a new silence, and in it, we saw everything.
There are two ways out…
Take my hand?
❤ Leora
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