2020.
I’m not a big fan. But not for the reasons you might think.
COVID-19? Just another disease that science and the medical community won’t find a cure for. Cures are far less cost effective than treatments. Also, finding one is no guarantee that it will ever make it to implementation. Same reason as above. Corrupt politicians? That’s redundancy if I even heard it. Civil unrest? Really? Nothing new there. I lived through the sixties, seventies, and eighties.
No. What caused me the most pain this year was realizing the loss of so many people. Friends, family members, people I work with, people I grew up with, went to school with, laughed and cried with. These people did not physically die. But they vanished just the same.
I’m talking about people who were once extremely intelligent, caring, compassionate, sharp thinking, independent, analytical, creative, humorous, kind, rational, problem solving types. They vanished. The shells that remain cannot think for themselves. They believe what strangers on digital displays tell them, without asking questions, without demanding context or intent. They have become reactionary to words and actions without consideration of intent, becoming offended and outraged without rational consideration or discourse.
Many interesting dialogues were had with these people. Disagreements rarely ended with raised voices let alone raised fists or bloodshed. The ability to hear an argument, rationalize it, and respond intelligently without taking offense is the cornerstone of debate. It’s called conversation. Communication. Have we really lost the ability to communicate with each other? Face to face, not looking into a digital display.
How many posts on social media were removed because a simple question degenerated to name calling and worse between friends? Would this happen if the conversation was taking place face to face? I wonder. I can not tell you how much it hurt to see this happen over and over. I wanted to step in and comment to defuse the situation, but I will not engage in reactionary melee with those who get there truth from strangers without applying critical thought. It doesn’t make me right. It just means that only then can I respect that your view is truly yours.
I watched far too many people vanish this year. People I cared about. My wish for 2021 is for those lost people to return and introduce themselves.
P.S. If this offends you in any way, I will not apologize. Instead, please go to the closest mirror and ask your reflection, “Why have you given Dennis so much control over your life that you let him offend you with a few words on a digital display?” Then listen carefully to the answer that you receive and apply that same question to every communication you engage in. Or, send me a message and ask my why. You may find your way back.
Tales From The Hare 
Matthew Wright
January 1, 2021 at 12:05 am
Hi Dennis – no question 2020 was a dramatic and difficult year. Globally. Even here in NZ, where the Prime Minister delivered us from the virus with a combination of kindness, compassion and sharp action that has so far kept it largely on the border, life behind the scenes has been much as you describe in this post. People alienated from each other for no good reason. I have had such loss myself. It is not what humanity should be. How did we get to this point, as a civilisation – a global, closely connected civilisation? I have my suspicions. It was never planned, of course. But there is, equally, but one way forward: and compassion and kindness for others costs nothing to apply. A habit, I hope, that will be relearnt in 2021.
I should add that I hope, despite all the challenges confronting the world, that all is going well for you – and will continue into 2021.
Dennis Langley
January 1, 2021 at 6:28 pm
Thank you, Matt. You are like the bedrock. Always solid. I can count on you even if I haven’t posted in ages. Because my day job keeps me neck deep in the pandemic, I have been hearing some of what your PM has done, but sometime, I would like to have a chat and hear about it from someone on the ground, firsthand. As always you are spot on with what it will take to move forward in a positive manner. Compassion and kindness. I believe the key element that I see missing is the ability to really listen, actively, with real interest (compassion and kindness). Oddly enough, for me, things are going well. 2021 should be a year of many potentially positive changes for me. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and nose to the grindstone. Thanks again, for being there and making me smile.