We missed the Vernal Equinox, the first day of Spring. We were scurrying around, under the heavy overcast of disease and deceit. It passed unnoticed, the beginning of renewal, the Phoenix rising from the Ashes, a time for hope.
In Spring a young man’s fancy turns to:
- Love, nope, Social Distancing.
- Baseball, no way, Season’s Canceled.
- Having a beer with the bros; sorry Charlie, all the Bars and Restaurants are closed.
- Masturbation, ain’t going to happen, Wash Your Hands and Don’t Touch Your Face.
- Social Media, Gaming and Netflix. Bingo we have a winner, welcome to Spring 2020.
Oh wait a minute, that’s a typical day for guys, social media, gaming and Netflix. And, there are the thousands of young people at the beach swapping bodily fluids and STDs. Turning themselves into COVID-19 drones heading home to infect their parents, grandparents and friends. Oh to be stupid and irresponsible.
Life is complex. It’s one big SNAFU: Situation Normal, All Fucked Up.
However, it is Spring, the time of rebirth and change.
We have just escaped the grip of a harsh winter and now face a Spring with a raging pandemic, continuing destruction of our environment, and a frightened and divided society.
And the point is?
This past winter was a blizzard of lies, conspiracy theories, and a continuous storm of corruption. The winds of deception came fast and furious, allowing us little time to regain our balance and push back.
This was our Winter of Discontent leaving us discouraged, feeling powerless and, perhaps hopeless. This Winter appeared bleak and lifeless.
However, Winter is the womb of Spring. Unseen, life progresses. In the natural world. Some plants and seeds need to freeze to prepare them to sprout when Spring’s warmth returns. Some animals hibernate, sleeping in their burrows, safe from the pitiless weather outside. Invasive species are killed or weakened by the intense cold, making them more vulnerable to the returning sun and warmth.
The Trump Administration’s blizzard of deceit combined with the media’s penchant for bad news has obscured the American reality. Weathering this disheartening tempest, the American Dream persists and grows stronger under the snow and howling winds.
Paradoxically, by fighting the contagion, it exposes social, economic and environmental injustices. Our actions to protect ourselves from disease also require that the injustices be address, too. COVID-19 has sped up our Spring of Change.
Failures to address COVID-19 by the Trump government has renewed the American spirit. Across the America people are coming together to fight the pandemic. In addition, Americans are organizing to push back and reassert the Rule of Law, stopping businesses and individuals who willing to harm us for their profit, and energizing the call for social, economic and environmental justice.
Ignored until recently by the short-sighted media, numerous groups, government, civic and grassroots have been forming across the country. They are comprised of citizens, charities, educators, business and government leaders, religious communities, environmental and social justice groups and others. These alliances are working at the local, state, regional and national levels to inform Americans of the threat we face and how we can protect ourselves from the disease, corruption and mismanagement destroying our our faith in each other and our country.
Spring is here and we need to fully engage. It is time to sprout and blossom. A good start is to inform ourselves through reputable, fact-based information sources. Also donate to organizations fighting the contagion and other worthy causes. Next, talk with others and, if possible, volunteer to help. Both have the power to renew our spirits and empower us. We are not alone, individual islands in a vast sea. There are tens of millions of us sharing the same concerns and wanting to restore our nation.
We don’t need to be powerless or without hope.
As certainly as there was a Winter, so now there is Spring.