December 24, 2020 | Of Loss and Gain
An Internet sensation is the dating video of Satan and 2020. A perfect match. Nobody saw this coming back in the halcyon days of late twenty nineteen. We had no idea how long and deeply we’d be tested.
The last time there was a global pandemic of this extent was a century ago. The last time financial markets crashed 30% and recovered just as fast was never. Sickness has not enveloped the globe this way before. And at no time in history was a potential cure found so quickly. This year the world’s economy ground to a halt. Millions lost their jobs. Trillions was spent trying to fix it. Too many died, despite it all.
The year brought division, stress, social unrest, conspiracy nuts and political polarization to a new zenith. An election which seemed to never end. States of emergency in every province. Lockdowns, quarantines, stay-at-home orders, isolations. And masks. Did you ever imagine last Christmas we would look like this? Or, in fact, we’d not have a Christmas? I see a local church delivered little plastic bags of communion wafers to believers this week so they can share communion online later today. By Zoom. Seriously.
Physical, social distancing is not what humans are used to. Working from home. Jumping off the sidewalk. Following the floor arrows. Lining up at the liquor store six feet apart. Next week two-thirds of the nation will be shut in. Winter is bad enough. This is cruel. Satanic.
But it will get better. We all know that. There is hope now, as the solstice passes and the light filters through. Pandemics pass. The masks will eventually fall. We’ll embrace again.
The year from Hell. Its profound losses, irreversible, will not soon fade. So much gone.
Let’s resolve to move ahead, more chastened, less angry, thankful for any normalcy that returns, accepting with grace what we cannot change. It’s still a good world.
Merry Christmas.
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Garth Turner December 24th, 2020
Posted In: The Greater Fool
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