The challenges of 2020 have been overwhelming: the pandemic; the mistreatment and murder of minorities by those who pledged to protect and serve; and the attempt to overthrow democracy by manipulated insurrectionists. Our ethical character, or lack thereof, is revealed. We have let the McCarthy “Red Scare” of the 50s morph into the Trump “Blue Scare” of the 20s.
We have become self-centered and gave excuses against masks and social distancing instead of considering the health and welfare of humanity. Anyone who does their part and wears a mask shows they are also heroes. We, the people, should exhibit actions that are more conscientious to the needs of all and not just ourselves.
The beginning of this decade and all the difficulties yet to come will define us. We will either practice compassion and honesty or buckle under. We have a choice. Only we can make it through this historic time peacefully and with dignity and integrity. Common sense and morality must prevail if we are to return to a nation unified.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, the purpose of life is “to have it make some difference that you lived and lived well.”
Cheryl BlackwellDurango
