2020 Sucked The Humanity From Our Bones

2020 Sucked The Humanity From Our Bones

By Ed Kociela

Let’s be honest here, this particular point in the time and space continuum is sucking our very humanity from our bones.

At a time when we should be putting away our petty differences and seeking a healing of mind, body, and soul, we are doing everything we can to prolong the misery.

The tragedy of 2020 starts and ends, of course, with COVID-19, which has touched every single one of our lives. If you haven’t lost somebody to the disease you know somebody who has had it. As we prepare to leave 2020 in the dust, we are evermore faceless beings, bound behind our masks as we try to seek some normalcy or we become ignorant, selfish shells who refuse to mask up because “nobody’s gunna tell me what I can and can’t do.” We are urged not to socialize like we once did, to avoid the embrace of kith and kin to avoid the disease. Some of us cannot work because of shutdowns, which means some of us can no longer afford the barest of necessities. People are being put out on the street. Hunger is growing in dangerous proportions and not only in Third World countries but the United States as well where foodbanks are collapsing under the weight of need. Economically speaking our false economy is teetering. Sure, there are some who have profited from betting the downside in the market, but far more have gone belly up on investments and the entrepreneurship that once separated them from the pack.

We also suffer from being a rudderless society with a president who has never taken more than a passive interest in guiding the nation through this crisis. At first, he ignored it, telling us that it would all just magically disappear one day, then with false hope that we were “turning the corner” on COVID-19. He has served no inspirational purpose, bickering constantly with the scientists and medical experts over treatments. He recommended using bleach to purge the system. In another hustle he recommended hydroxychloroquine, which he claimed to have taken over the summer, but did nothing to prevent his contracting the disease. He scoffed at masks as being an exercise in political correctness, even as researchers from around the globe touted them as the most effective frontline defense against catching or spreading the disease. We learned later, of course, that the purpose behind all of that was to reach a point of herd immunity as rapidly as possible, which means thousands died needlessly because of his bad advice and policy. The president, in other words, thought it was better to trade human lives for a predicted expediency in ending the pandemic.

We also arrived at this painful point in time and space on the brink of a Constitutional crisis as the president bleats irrationally about how he was cheated out of a second term, something he continues to stomp his feet about even as his once staunchest supporters disavow his claims. Mr. President, if Mitch McConnell says you’re done, you’re done. There was no conspiracy, there was no cheating, there was no fake reporting. Joe Biden whipped your ass tidily. The American voters kicked you to the curb. Please go quietly before you lose whatever is left of your dignity.

We should also examine our own souls as we look back on 2020, which, despite a raging pandemic, managed to bring out the worst in us as racism boiled over and innocent women and men of color perished at the hands of rabid cops as the systemic racism that has controlled law enforcement and our judicial system for centuries ran unchecked. Imagine, if you can, being handcuffed, slammed into the asphalt, and gasping for breath because some guy with a gun and a badge has his knee across your neck. “I can’t breathe” is the horrific coda to our summer of hate. If anything positive came from all of that it is the sheer numbers of people who took to the streets, despite the dangers of COVID-19, to take a stand for humanity.

I don’t like the idea of wishing my days away. As we get older, we realize there are fewer and fewer tomorrows, that we must make as much as possible from every breath we take. I think 2020, in hindsight, if you will excuse the pun, has taught us that. At least I pray so.

We lost a lot in 2020.

We lost lives, a tragic number of lives.

We lost our dignity as a nation.

We lost our unity, the thing that has carried us through previous moments of crisis.

Hopefully, as we stand on the threshold of 2021, we understand that even though it may only be symbolic, a new day, a new time is coming, that we must look back to set a course for tomorrow, that despite all of the turmoil and angst, there are lessons to be learned.

We can overcome all of this, all it takes is standing outside of ourselves and realizing that we have it in our power to make the difficult, but vital changes to bring the planet back into harmony, that we, as individuals, are not at the center of the universe, that there is a greater good that must be served.

As we speak, there are poor nations fighting to have Big Pharma relinquish its patents on the various COVID-19 vaccinations. India and South Africa have petitioned the World Trade Organization to suspend intellectually property rights related to COVID-19 in an effort to ensure that not only the wealthiest countries in the world have access to vaccines, medicines, and other new technologies to control the pandemic, that poor people get sick, too. The rationale is that by lifting the patents, more companies could manufacture the necessary drugs and deliver them to more people more rapidly. Of course, Big Pharma and the nations where they operate are against the idea because it could cut their profits. I wonder what Jonas Salk would think about that. Salk refused to patent the polio vaccine he developed saying it as owned by the people. It was estimated by Forbes Magazine to have cost him about $7 billion in potential profit. Albert Sabin, who developed the oral polio vaccine did likewise. Both valued lives more than dollars.

Look, 2021 will most certainly bring its share of heartaches and problems. It will not be perfect, nothing is.

But, we can refocus ourselves by remembering that those who refuse to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.

Let’s broaden our scope.

Let’s embrace the fact that we are part of a much tighter global community busting down those walls that divide us whether they are physical, emotional, or cultural.

Let’s make 2021 a time of change for the betterment of the entire planet.

Yes, 2020 was a difficult year. But, it is a wasted year if we ignore the lessons we learned through hardship and to waste a year means we have disrespected ourselves and our time on this good Earth.

We’re better than that.

Wishing you peace, love, and good health in the coming year and always.

Viewpoints and perspectives expressed throughout The Independent are those of the individual contributors. They do not necessarily reflect those held by the staff of The Independent or our advertising sponsors. Your comments, rebuttals, and contributions are welcome in accordance with our Terms of Service. Please be respectful and abide by our Community Rules. If you have privacy concerns you can view our Privacy Policy here. Thank you! 

Click here to submit an article, guest opinion piece, or a Letter to the Editor