I know we think it would be better to start 2020 over again, or perhaps just forget this year ever happened. I don't want that. 2020 is not a year to regret or to forget. It is the year to expect better. I hope this time is a turning point in the collective vision of ourselves.
This year has become the metastasis of long ignored ailments. They have festered and bled repeatedly, only to be diminished and put aside. Healthcare for profit is already unethical, but when it is lost due to layoffs in an actual health crisis, you have to question it's moral pledge. This can be changed. Racism is already hatred, but when it is backed up with weapons fire or brutality, it is simply evil made manifest. This can be changed. Xenophobia betrays our own beginnings as a country, but when it is applied in militarized raids, race shaming, or used to bureaucratically kidnap children of refugees simply defies reasonable response. This can be changed. Embarrassingly, the list does not stop there. These ailments have now spread into our economy, our travel policies, our workdays, and personal daily living.
Let's let the events of 2020 really sink in. Look deeply into the hearts of those in positions of authority, or who propose to be, and do what is necessary to keep them back in YOUR service. Communities with the strongest oversight of their civil servants tend to have the highest quality of life scores. Demanding accountability and transparency is paramount in any administration, be it civil or corporate. This is not a coincidence.
If you are done with 2020, let's be done with power run amok, regulatory corruption and conflict of interest, unqualified oafs buying their way into government roles, and the backroom deal culture when it comes to your money. Let 2020 be the year you are forced to look at this mess, and do something about it. This year could turn out to be the most important year ever.