Hola ..
Well, the old saying goes something like “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” .. so, although we may want to let 2020 dissolve into the mist, we can't .. from any perspective, whether it be the Good, the Bad or the Ugly ..
The point I tried to make with my previous look-back, was, the year has been a mixed bag .. and, mainly, it should have taught us that the Collective Good outweighs the actions of the few .. that we are, in fact, a Community, whether we like it or not ..
I'll draw on a favorite Man of Logic, Mr. Spock .. (yes, I know the show had writers, but it's the actors delivery that counts, too ..)
"If there are self-made purgatories, then we all have to live in them."
"Without followers, evil cannot spread."
"... The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
Personally, and I should be ashamed to say this, I did not live in fear in 2020 .. I abided by the protocols, I did what was suggested be done, but I tried to live as normal a life as I could .. you may recall a series of Videos that I made during the early to mid part of the Pandemic .. those were not only to, hopefully, be stupidly entertaining to the Gang here, but they helped provide me with a degree of outlet .. Point being, I don't mind making a Fool of myself, I never really have worried about it .. and, I'm not going to let a thing like a Pandemic upend things .. at least those that are in my own control ..
All my life, at least when I began to think Independently, I believed that every individual has responsibility for their lives .. I think, sometimes now, that the Pandemic has upended my old Philosophy .. when a large swath of the Population at Large has absolutely no real control over how things are going to go, it becomes more and more difficult to "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" ..
This, then, goes back to our own Personal and Collective responsibility ..
I was born a White Heterosexual Male .. this, in and of itself, has given me a leg up in Life .. that's just the way the chips get stacked .. whether we want to admit it or not .. although I've always admitted that I'm 40% Female at some level ..
.. at the same time, I don't feel any angst or guilt over what I am .. regardless, I have always tried my best to treat folks with respect, understand that no matter the Race, Gender, Orientation or Creed, no one is any better or any worse than me ..
The bottom line :: Although I stated in an earlier Post that I sometimes believe America's Greatest days were somewhere in the past, at the same time, I believe we will win the Battle for a Better Country for all ..
2020 .. ?? We were there .. most of us tried .. no one was left untouched .. and we're still trying ..
Let's not soon forget the Lessons of the Year of Trying ..
