TRENDING

This letter from GL's editor Karen Bokram appears in our December/January 2021 issue (coming soon!). The opinions expressed here are her own...

No matter who ends up as our next President, the world is a much, much different place than it was four years ago. And it’s not a better one. 
We have a pandemic that is surging at record rates, projected to kill hundreds of thousands more Americans (and millions more around the globe). Our country and our world have been burning (and flooding), most certainly due, in large part, to climate change. And America’s citizens are facing hardships ranging from hunger to unemployment to racism to violence.

While our country is divided like never before, I think we can all agree on one thing: We don’t want to live like this. And, more to the point, this isn’t the world we want our next greatest generation (aka you) to inherit.

My deepest hope and prayer is that, somehow, when this election is decided this week/month/year, it starts a new chapter in our country’s history. I hope we will once again have true leadership. Someone who will work to unite us, lifting up each and every person so every American can reach their greatest potential. I hope our country can once again be a place that is respected and admired.

I don’t know anyone who isn’t eager for the dumpster fire of 2020 to be over. But our challenges and problems aren’t going away with the flip of a calendar page (or a new president). They will remain—and it will take *all* of us to help heal our country and restore hope.

So how do we do it? One action and one day at a time. 

Wear a mask and prioritize your health and the health of those around you. Be patient and persevere. Show kindness to others. Reach out to those who are lonely or have less. Take the time to really listen and understand people. Stick up for what you believe in while knowing there’s always more to learn. 

And, most of all, use your voice to create the change you want to see. We need to get real about our own responsibility vs government. We need to take matters into our own hands, every day, protecting/lifting up those who need us. No matter which way this goes, it’s time to stop thinking we can solve our problems with politics and start doing the work ourselves of taking care of others. If each of us can just lift up one person this year, we can have the change we want/wanted to see in this election.

No doubt, there will be days when everything we have ahead of us will seem utterly overwhelming. Those are the days when you can use your voice to share your feelings and ask for help. Even in our socially distanced world, there’s always someone ready with a hug (even if it’s just a virtual one). 

2020, you were the year we never wanted. Your legacy of loss, tragedy, anger and pain will never be forgotten. But maybe, just maybe, your lessons will stick with us long enough so we’ll always remember, in four years or 40, how we really want to live our lives.

by GL | 11/4/2020