BYE BYE 2020

It’s that time of year for the NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS!  Resolutions were so easy to make last year, lose weight, eat right, go to the gym, save money, etc etc.….  How awesome it was to ring in the New Year with a glass of champagne, knowing that we will give up all those good intentions by February.  

By March, everything collapsed, and our world has been turned upside down. I’m usually an optimist, but this year I struggle to find much to smile about (besides grandkids). 2020 has a dark side that brought out the absolute worse traits in mankind and exposed the problems in our country! The bright light of 2020 has been the response by some of the real heroes in our society.  The health care teams and their support staff, first responders, retail workers who kept us in food, volunteers on the food lines, scientists who developed the vaccine, and all the people who keep our country operating are awe inspiring and underappreciated.  

 I think that maybe this year should be filled by resolutions that have a lot more to do with our world than our waistline.  I cannot believe that this country has divided itself by blind allegiance to leaders (on both sides of the aisle) who care more about their pocketbook and ego then the people who gave them their job. I never thought I would see the day that some leaders and their followers would advocate that our democratic process should be dismantled.  I don’t delude myself that it’s going to be really tough for our country to heal. Maybe, it’s time for us to start talking and avoid the blind allegiance to political slogans and what we want to hear. It’s time for us to start to define the problems and to work together on solutions or we will lose our country for our children and grandchildren.  Let’s see if maybe we can agree on some of those problems.  Why talk about problems?  If we agree on problems, just maybe we can find the unity to work together to focus on a solution instead of merely blaming others. 

A pandemic that, by the time it is under control, will have cost the lives of over 500,000 lives.  It is estimated that between 30% and 50% of those lives might have been saved if the response was not politicized by leaders who denied science, minimized the risk and made it an issue of “freedom” rather than societal responsibility.  It did not go away by Easter, Memorial Day or disappear in the summer as promised.  

Poverty, approximately 50 million people are hungry in this country right now. Don’t blame a pandemic because just a year ago it was over 35 million.  Either number is a disgrace! Our politicians boast about the stock market and corporate profits as an indicator of financial health for all. Once again, our politicians hide behind the figures of “people who have climbed out of poverty.”  Unfortunately, the definition of the poverty level for a family of four is about $26,000 a year. That is not even a survival wage. In the “olden days” a person who made the minimum wage could survive and have their basic survival needs met.  Now, there is nowhere in the country where a person can survive on that. The elderly are being particularly impacted. In the recent past, a person could work for a company for 30 years, get a pension that was supplemented by social security, maybe have a little savings and live with dignity.  For the majority of workers, defined pension plans have been eliminated in favor of corporate profit with the message that people need to take personal responsibility for their retirement.  Nice idea if the company pays them well enough to save.  

Systemic racism and prejudice against blacks, people of color, gender, various religions, sexual orientation and anyone who is different has been swept under the rug.  Don’t kid yourself, it exists. The Tuskegee Syphilis experiment did not end till 1972 and it has been less than 40 years since the last lynching of a black man.  I had a black client tell me that the “talk” they had with their teen son was about avoiding any type of interaction with the police because of his color.  Yes, progress has been made but look at the employment statistics, arrest and incarceration rates, and start to think about what true equality means.  

Maybe we should try addressing the problems of healthcare, the cost and the fact that medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy in this country. Doesn’t take too much to force a person into poverty with the cost of medical care and pharmaceuticals.  It is estimated that healthcare will cost a retiree approximately $160,000.00 during their life.  That is over 10 years of the average Social Security check. 

Illegal immigration-another hot button item!  We build walls, break up families and condemn the individual.  I do not defend any illegal acts, but let’s shift blame to the corporations and individuals who knowingly break the law by their hiring practices.  Who is more culpable, an individual who is seeking to help their family or the corporation that encourages it because “Americans won’t work those jobs for low wages”?

Hate crimes have risen to the highest level in more than a decade.  Last week, the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial was vandalized with swastikas and words of hate. I saw the photo of a man demonstrating against the election results with a shirt emblazoned with the initials “6MWE”.  I was horrified, disgusted and afraid when I heard that those initials stood for 6 Million Wasn’t Enough which referred to the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust.  I am also disgusted by the radicals who destroyed the message of the peaceful protesters with violence.  Radicals on BOTH sides bear guilt!

Distrust!  We have a President that said months before the election that if he loses it was only because of fraud.  Despite losing over 50 legal challenges, including 2 in front of the Supreme Court, assurances by his hand-picked top security and legal team that the election results were valid, he has managed to convince 40% of the population that the election was “fixed.”  He has encouraged violence and discussed the possibility of martial law.  Worried about election fraud? Great, but review the legal battles and their results as well as the opinion of the security experts.  Then discuss options to assure fairness.  If you condemn vote by mail (I live in Colorado and it has proven to be safe, easy and fraud free), you must also condemn gerrymandering and the flagrant attempts to deny everyone the ability to vote.  It might help to examine the origin of the Electoral College and how slaves were considered 3/5ths of a person to give the southern states more representation.  There are lots of other interesting facts about how the election process has been politicized!       `           

How can we fix some of these problems?  Two ways.  The first is to stop believing the posts on social media.  Educate yourself.  The Constitution is a very interesting read.  Many of the Founding Fathers were Deists who advocated for religious freedom and tolerance, not one particular orthodoxy.  God was not mentioned in the Constitution.  Thomas Jefferson created his own bible, eliminating miracles and combining the moral lessons from Jesus but he was adamant about separation of Church and state. So, why is it that saying Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays is such a big political issue?  Read what the Constitution has to say about liberty before you repeat the slogans.

Another possibility? Get rid of financial incentives for being a public “servant.”  Forget term limits, no other job has time limits and if you do well you should remain.  It is a sad fact that our elected officials spend half their time raising money for their reelection.  Maybe it is time to reform the entire system. Eliminate lobbyists and remove the financial incentives for government service.  Give everyone an “allowance” for their campaign so they don’t have to kiss up to the wealthy or corporations to get/keep a job.   Make trading on the stock market illegal while they are in office.  Remove the distractions and the temptations.  Term limits wouldn’t be needed if they focused on their job performance instead of retention!

Notice the common thread?  Greed and power! From student loans to healthcare to minimum wage, maximizing profit at the expense of the public good ties it all together. So, this year is an opportunity to decide what type of society you want for your children and grandchildren.  Is it one where a person’s value is determined by their net worth or power?  Is it one where we judge worth by a person’s job or education or one where we can recognize our shared humanity? Is it one where the small business owner and employees get abandoned while mega churches, asset rich business and sports heroes get bailed out?  LOTS of opportunities for meaningful resolutions for 2021!  LOTS of opportunity for change and healing!  

So, maybe the only meaningful resolution is that in the year 2021, we take the time to realize that we are all human beings with the same basic needs; needs that transcend wealth, ideology, color and gender.  If we celebrate our similarities with the same fervor that we condemn differences, then maybe we can once again call ourselves the “United” States of America!

I leave you with the words of those who spanned the generations, that they might impact your thoughts, but more importantly, your actions.

-Jesus said of the sheep, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Mt 25:35-36). 

-“A Nation’s Greatness Is Measured By How It Treats Its Weakest Members” Ghandi

-“A Nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but it’s lowest ones” Nelson Mandela

May we enter 2021 with a sense of community rather than division; a society that recognizes our shared humanity rather than glorify our differences.

HAPPY NEW YEAR