Reflections on the old year, and hopes for the new

It's hard to know where to start in terms of summing up the year 2020. It's been a tough year for many people due to the pandemic, which shows no sign of abating any time soon. So we place our collective hope in the vaccines that have been developed to tackle the corona virus. We cross our fingers, pray, and hope for the best. A lot of lives have been lost to covid-19, lives that might have been saved had a vaccine existed at the start of the year. Lives that might have been saved if some countries had taken the pandemic seriously from the start, encouraged their citizens to wear masks and to socially distance, and to think of the common good. The latter is anathema to many people, who equate the common good with socialism, and God knows they don't want any part of that. Their individual rights and freedoms come first, before all else. If everyone thought like they do, there would be no vaccines, no hospitals, no healthcare system. Why should there be? After all, individualists should be able to treat and take care of themselves without any interference or help from medical professionals or the government. But trying to get them to see reason is tantamount to hitting your head against a brick wall continually. 

I am hoping that 2021 brings an end to the stupidity I've seen around me, read about, and watched on tv in 2020--stupid behavior and stupid statements on the part of selfish people and politicians. I'm hoping for a return to intelligence and rational thinking. But you never know. Those things are not valued in society as they once were. Intelligence is suspect, and rational thinking is reserved for nerds and academics. It's how you feel about things that counts. 'I don't feel like doing this or that'. So people don't do this or that, but sometimes doing those things would be beneficial for society as a whole. Maybe doing those things would bring a quicker end to the pandemic. 

I've learned that there are people I thought I knew, that I absolutely do not know, and at this point in time, I don't think I want to get to know who they are now. Diehard Trump supporters who believe he was sent by God, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists. Some people I know are one or more of these types of people. I would never have thought that they would go down those paths. But they have, and it's worrisome, especially the anti-vaccine path. I wonder if any of them have googled smallpox and taken a long hard look at the images of people with smallpox. Smallpox was eradicated due to a vaccine. But I'm guessing that the anti-vaxxers have another explanation for why it was eradicated, and of course their explanation is the correct one. Anti-vaxxers are anti-science, and I don't trust those types of people. Science cannot save every situation, but without it, we would have been doomed a long time ago.

We live in a strange world now, one where it is possible to re-write history and ignore facts/actual data on a whim. It is dangerous to wipe out history, to pretend that the bad things in history never happened. Bad things did happen, and history is there to record them so that we can learn from them and prevent them from happening again. That is the point of history. We cannot just focus on the good things, because we do not, never have, and never will, live in a utopia. No society on earth is perfect, and never will be, despite what some politicians say and believe. America is not the greatest country on earth; it's a fortunate country, yes, but many other countries are also. If you live in one of these countries, your life will likely be comfortable and rewarding because you will not lack for most material things. But people should remember that some of life is sheer luck; we did not choose to be born in these countries, any more than others chose to be born in less fortunate countries. Ergo, the fortunate countries must share their bounty with the less fortunate countries; that is only fair. But that is my opinion. Thankfully, many enlightened people think the same way. They are not interested in hoarding wealth or denying others the chance for a better life. 

My hope for 2021 is that life returns to normal, to our definition of it--to be able to travel, get together, hug each other, eat out, go to the movies, go to the theater--in short, enjoy life again without thinking of the risks and dangers of doing so. Life will return to normal at some point, but we will have learned how to deal with life when it is not normal. And perhaps that is a good thing, since I feel certain that the world is not done with pandemics. Many health professionals think the same thing. So if we have learned something from this pandemic, it is the necessity of being prepared for as many eventualities as we can. We cannot afford to be taken by surprise again. The next pandemic could be more lethal than this one. I hope not, but there is no way to know for sure. Best to be prepared. 

Can't wait for this year to be over

I cannot wait for the American election to be over. Cannot wait. Cannot wait until we can return to some semblance of sanity in our daily lives. Everywhere you turn, in every country on the globe (it seems), the election dominates the news. That tells you how important it is. But it also tells you how nuts it's become. I live abroad as you know, and will vote from here. By mail, because the United States Postal System works. It works, has worked, and will continue to work. But it will fall apart if the president wills it. If service has slowed up, it's because of the pandemic. The Norwegian postal system has slowed up as well since the pandemic began. 

I am just so tired of hearing about DT at every turn. Sick to death of him, sick to death of his sycophants. He's invaded daily life here, so I shudder to imagine how bad it's become over there. I just know that we cannot go on like this. His presidency pits and has pitted people against each other, affecting marriages and friendships. It makes people mistrust other people and mistrust federal institutions that the country relies on. If there are real problems in those institutions, then FIX them. Don't create a civil war because of them. There are people I know who fear that DT won't leave the White House peacefully if he loses. Have we really come to this as a country? Do you know how ridiculous it sounds from here, except that I know it's happened before in other autocratic countries and will happen again. I just didn't expect to consider that it would happen in America, my country. For heaven's sake, get a grip, people, before it is too late. I hope he wins the peace prize just so that WE can get some peace again. Then he can say that he got what Obama got, since that's all he does--compete with Obama--and then maybe we can be rid of him for good. He can enjoy the flattery for a few weeks and then we can move on with our lives. And hopefully never have to hear about him and his family ever again. 

I cannot wait for 2020 to be over. I cannot wait for all of the negative things to cease. The pandemic. Those who claim it is a hoax to destroy DT. Young people who ignore social distancing. Adults who do likewise. We need a vaccine against the virus, but then there are the anti-vaxxers to contend with. Workplaces that continue to plan for open-office landscapes when they know that viruses will spread like wildfire among those who sit there. A lot of unemployment. Greed. More greed. Never a mention of what Christ might want for the world. Sycophants who once worked for and were fired by DT, who cash in by writing tell-all books. Why didn't they have the balls to stand up to him publicly when they worked for him? Say straight to his face that he's wrong, uninformed, and ignorant about so many issues. Continue to say it. Why didn't they do that then? The books just confirm what anyone with any common sense already knows--he's unfit for the office of presidency. 

The saving grace has been my garden, but even there, there is stupidity--people complaining that there are too many honey bees flying around. I mean really. It's like complaining that there are too many birds, or earthworms, or soil that can get your hands dirty. We're in a garden for heaven sakes. Our beekeeper quit recently, and there are no plans to replace him. There are people who don't want hives or beekeepers because that will mean more bees in their gardens. I mean, really. The bees are there to help our gardens and us gardeners. They are not aggressive, they are rather wonderful little creatures with which one can peacefully co-exist, like bumblebees. Like Joni Mitchell wrote, "My heart is broken in the face of the stupidity of my species." Mine is not broken, not yet. We'll see what 2021 brings. 

Past the halfway mark and moving toward 2021