The season is finally actually changing. Usually, this is a positive sign of things to come. Children outdoors running, laughing, playing. We'll see some of this, but isolated to their own front yards. I feel for those in inner cities as it's quite obvious their lives are much less free. Isn't it ironic how many people with great financial wealth are such indoors, while the poor are running free in the fields? Yes, I'm well aware that the reverse is true in an urban area, so excuse my generalization of America.
I think about how all of this is begging for our perspective. I look back to this time ten years ago. The nation consumed by the two-part series finale of Lost. Now, the entire country feels as if we've been thrown into an alternate universe. Some have been philosophical, some have been angry, and much like the show, we seem to be choosing alliances and lashing out at those who we blame. It was a TV show, this is not, but much like the ending of that television show, the confusion is what most speak of.
Five years ago was my first full spring in Ithaca. Young white liberals closing down streets in Central NY to protest the sad and questionable death of Freddie Gray. I remember being so irritated by this, despite agreeing in the wrongdoing. A community, so removed from the realities of the real world, literally singing Kumbaya while pretending to understand and be empathetic.
Last year, I wrote about perspective. Complaining of no hot water, while a child who'd recently lost his father made me laugh. While Flint, Michigan was still a news story. It still is, as are other parts of the country and the world, but remember, wash your hands first.
Where will we all be in mid-May 2021? I highly doubt we'll be wearing masks. I doubt we will be in our homes, locked out of schools, and restaurants. I would assume there will be more death, but I hesitate to speculate. Science works faster than it once did. We just work slower. I envision a shift to four-day workweeks, but that may just be too forward-thinking for this lot of politicians. I envision longer school days, a rise in the number of students in nursing school. I envision more animosity towards our neighbors and the lessons learned from the past two months and beyond becoming somewhat of a myth or folktale. Unless tens of millions more die, we'll say this was exaggerated. We'll never give ourselves credit for doing what needed to be done, because the business that controls our politicians and media won't allow it We'll praise false prophets and revere those who did what was necessary as heroes. We love that word. We'll demonize those we feel failed us, never taking any time to recognize they did much of the same as our heroes. We'll blame every side effect on "the virus," explaining that this is why our children got C's and not A's. We'll view failed relationships are the collateral damage from actually having to spend time with those we love. We're already blaming this two-month stint on so much, yet ignore the hundreds of years of damage we've created.
Where will be in five years? Ten? Will most of us be here in twenty? Will we face a bigger challenge. Will it have anything to do with this time or not? I keep asking myself, "What have we learned?" When I listen to what business owners, school superintendents, local politicians, and those reaching all the way to the White House, I realize it's nothing. Then I look at the people they hire, teach, protect, and govern, and they've learned nothing. Ignorance is no longer simply bliss, it's the status quo.
I think about how all of this is begging for our perspective. I look back to this time ten years ago. The nation consumed by the two-part series finale of Lost. Now, the entire country feels as if we've been thrown into an alternate universe. Some have been philosophical, some have been angry, and much like the show, we seem to be choosing alliances and lashing out at those who we blame. It was a TV show, this is not, but much like the ending of that television show, the confusion is what most speak of.
Five years ago was my first full spring in Ithaca. Young white liberals closing down streets in Central NY to protest the sad and questionable death of Freddie Gray. I remember being so irritated by this, despite agreeing in the wrongdoing. A community, so removed from the realities of the real world, literally singing Kumbaya while pretending to understand and be empathetic.
Last year, I wrote about perspective. Complaining of no hot water, while a child who'd recently lost his father made me laugh. While Flint, Michigan was still a news story. It still is, as are other parts of the country and the world, but remember, wash your hands first.
Where will we all be in mid-May 2021? I highly doubt we'll be wearing masks. I doubt we will be in our homes, locked out of schools, and restaurants. I would assume there will be more death, but I hesitate to speculate. Science works faster than it once did. We just work slower. I envision a shift to four-day workweeks, but that may just be too forward-thinking for this lot of politicians. I envision longer school days, a rise in the number of students in nursing school. I envision more animosity towards our neighbors and the lessons learned from the past two months and beyond becoming somewhat of a myth or folktale. Unless tens of millions more die, we'll say this was exaggerated. We'll never give ourselves credit for doing what needed to be done, because the business that controls our politicians and media won't allow it We'll praise false prophets and revere those who did what was necessary as heroes. We love that word. We'll demonize those we feel failed us, never taking any time to recognize they did much of the same as our heroes. We'll blame every side effect on "the virus," explaining that this is why our children got C's and not A's. We'll view failed relationships are the collateral damage from actually having to spend time with those we love. We're already blaming this two-month stint on so much, yet ignore the hundreds of years of damage we've created.
Where will be in five years? Ten? Will most of us be here in twenty? Will we face a bigger challenge. Will it have anything to do with this time or not? I keep asking myself, "What have we learned?" When I listen to what business owners, school superintendents, local politicians, and those reaching all the way to the White House, I realize it's nothing. Then I look at the people they hire, teach, protect, and govern, and they've learned nothing. Ignorance is no longer simply bliss, it's the status quo.
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