No matter who you are, the year 2020 has affected us all in some manner. Most likely, that is due to the ranging impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic such as financial hardship and many being rendered unemployed, contracting the Coronavirus or knowing someone who has, and the mass devastation the pandemic has fostered globally. Primarily in the United States, the Black Lives Matter movement was further mobilized this year reaching more people than ever before resulting in prominent occurrences of protests, riots/looting, and general civil unrest. Simultaneously, 2020 as we’re all well aware, is an election year. This presidential election is realistically the most pivotal one of our modern times. The Covid-19 pandemic, the BLM movement, and overall demand for intangible systemic/institutional change and unequivocal equality, as well as the consequential presidential election, all demand an extreme and necessary call to action for real change. It’s natural for us to cling to the idea of any sense of normalcy, especially throughout these highly unprecedented times. Instead of rushing to revert back to “normal” after facing a seemingly never-ending slew of obstacles, we should rather take a step back and reevaluate how we can grow, heal and rebuild as a country that unambiguously benefits, accepts, and safeguards us all.
It’s evident that in the United States the pandemic will likely spill over into 2021. With cases on a seemingly never-ending rise, the U.S. is seeing a major spike in numbers across most states. This is partially owed to the expanding eagerness of people to get back out and back to normal life. With the winter months coming up quickly, now is the time to continue buckling down, to increase testing, for mask mandates in accompaniment with social distancing, and when necessary quarantine/isolation measures. It’s, unfortunately, a catch-22 as there are damning implications for businesses and schools not being able to fully reopen, major economic repercussions and on an individual scale, mental health impacts, increasing rates of domestic/family violence, substance use issues, and much more. It’s very cataclysmic putting these implications into perspective and it truly reflects the unfortunate scope of impacts that Covid-19 has brought about.
There has been effort exerted on national and statewide levels to provide financial assistance, (i.e. unemployment,) and other forms of relief and measures that have been installed to safely have business and schools reopen to a degree. We must persevere, realize that everyone has been making sacrifices and that a full reopening just won’t be plausible until the pandemic is fully under control. There cannot be more needless loss of lives, overwhelmed healthcare systems and hospital capacities, and further discontentment of this zoonotic virus. The longer this pandemic drags out, the longer it will be until a full reopening may happen and for an opportune time period to begin picking up the pieces in an effort to rebuild.
With many holding onto hope that there will be some massive medical breakthrough in the form of a vaccine, it’s just unrealistic to believe that it will solve the pandemics’ unrelenting grip. Even when a vaccine is created it can’t be guaranteed as a cure universally, it more than likely won’t be available to the masses, or in mass amounts at first and could initially only be an option for those who have the means and healthcare coverage to afford it. Until there’s a real possibility for a breakthrough, we must all continue wearing masks and taking the precautions, social distancing, listening to science and healthcare professionals, and being grateful that we’re slowly but surely working to have businesses and schools be entirely reopened, as well as the economy eventually bouncing back.
In 2020, Black Lives Matter proved to be one of the largest movements in U.S. history. Sadly, the movement has definitely lost steam and momentum since earlier this year. A multitude of protests, riots, and peaceful demonstrations advocating for black lives, holistic equality and a collective call to end racial injustice and strife occurred across the country. Rightfully so, these instances took place, (and are still taking place,) throughout America after the tragic killings of people like the late George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, to name a couple, who lost their lives at the hands of brutal law enforcement. The awful circumstances surrounding both Floyd’s and Taylor’s deaths sparked much of the mass public outcry and demand for systemic changes across the board. It must be understood that there have been too many lives lost at the hands of police and it is extremely clear and evident that African-Americans are being killed at a disproportionate rate.
At the root, racism is systemically and institutionally embedded in our nation, its systems, some individuals and within law enforcement. Though the inhumane death of the late George Floyd incited far-reaching mobilization of the movement, the tragedy of his passing is just the tip of the iceberg. It has been long overdue for a massive movement such as this to happen. When looking back upon years of historic systemic and institutionalized racism, patterned racial injustices in many aspects, and the complacency of the government in not addressing this, it’s about time for a movement of this capacity. This movement and all it’s entailed thus far in the past year has further shed light upon the racial inequality that’s always existed. Many became aware, or became increasingly aware, of the establishment of racism being a horrendous hallmark of this country.
As it stands now, everything is on the table and there absolutely can’t be a return to how it was for so long before. In order to achieve and obtain true equality, in all respects, it is going to take time and fervent efforts on both governmental and individual levels. As deeply entrenched as the issue of racism is in America, it’s not going away overnight. It will take education, empathy, and understanding on the individual level to collectively get on the path towards all-encompassing antiracism. On a government level, it will take criminal justice reform, law enforcement reform and re-envisionment, efforts towards balance and equilibrium in access to healthcare, education, jobs, social services, and an abundance of other measures. We’re at a boiling point, backed by much momentum and urgent action needs to be taken. The path of the nation and the direction we must head in will be greatly altered and frankly determined by the impending presidential election.
At this point, we know who the presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden are, what they stand for, and the persona that they each embody. Time and time again Donald Trump has proven that he is racist, xenophobic, narcissistic, highly privileged, careless, and malicious and has shown many other undesirable qualities. It must be acknowledged and not excused that Joe Biden has a track record and controversy surrounding him as well. Generally speaking, most don’t relish the choice to vote for either of the candidates who both have histories characterized by misconduct, sexual harassment, and in Donald Trumps case, rape and accusations against him by 26 women. I as a woman am in turmoil that these candidates are our primary choices in this election. When it comes down to the nitty-gritty though and in alignment with the idea of choosing between “the lesser of two evils” I’ll vote for the Biden/Harris ticket any day. If you’re supporting and voting for Trump/Pence know that your vote validates his behaviors, what he embodies, and that his pattern of racism and all else must not be a deal-breaker for you.
It needs to be widely recognized that no one candidate, presidential or not, will be entirely ideal and a representative of us all, as the prominence of things like the divisive two-party system, has perpetuated it to be that way. Donald Trump has continually incited and promoted division among the American people. He has been an extreme driving and influential force emboldening the existence of hatefulness, racism, and bigotry that alongside other factors, modernly, has made our country the most divided it’s ever been. We know what 4 more years of Trump’s America would look like, as many have suffered through this term, he would further set us back and further fuel the division and hate. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris think progressively, will work to make our systems benefit and assist all people equally, won’t threaten but will expand healthcare accessibility, will trust and follow science, plan to address climate change, and will put forth a variety of other positive aspects and policies that will move our country in the right direction. It’s time for us to heal, rebuild as a nation, and to regain a sense of unity.
Though 2020 has been a tremendously difficult and disastrous year, there may yet be some light at the end of the tunnel. Many have been hard struck by events this past year and have had to face ranging consequences. Humanity has been tested by the Coronavirus pandemic and here in the U.S., its spread contributed to further revealing the cracks, flaws and inequality in our systems and institutions. We’ve witnessed and may have even participated and contributed to the largest movement, being Black Lives Matter, of this modern American era. The momentum of the movement can’t be all for not, we must make amends on individual and government levels. We’ve witnessed this presidential administration and are now at a turning point of what path we will either embark upon or stay trapped on. With all of this being said and all said prior, we shouldn’t want things to go back to “normal” after 2020. In many ways, naturally things won’t return to normal. In terms of systemic and institutional changes, this year should be taken as a lesson and used as a basis for the opportunity to rebuild and improve ourselves, our country and to ensure a better future for us all.