Can We Hit the Reset Button on 2020?

Are you exhausted? Me too. I’d like to go back to New Years Eve and hit the reset button.

And that’s where the story begins…

The Coronavirus

This is the year it finally happened. My dreams came true. Wearing pants to work finally became optional. And I’m now commuting from my bedroom to the couch. Last week I went more than one day without showering. #TMI

I’m glad we pushed through the toilet paper shortage.

So, let’s roll back the tape. How did we get here?

Way back in early 2020, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the LA Rams to win Super Bowl LIV. Do you remember the Super Bowl? That was the beginning of the end.

Anyway, a few weeks after that, 2020 started to circle the drain. Enter the Coronavirus. Nobody really thought much of it-until people started dying.
The entire world went into lock down. All sports and also all double-dipping of chips immediately ceased.

The Thin Blue Line

Then a wave of controversial deaths happened at the hands of vigilantes and police. Then a wave of riots. Then a national movement to “defund the police”. Then people started shooting at each other.

On the Fourth of July weekend, 31 people were shot in my hometown. Five died. Secoriea Turner, an 8-year-old girl, was part of the carnage. She was shot to death in her family car by some knuckleheads who were trying to capitalize on the death of Rayshard Brooks. (The shootings in my hometown are up 300% over last July.)

The Coronavirus took a back seat for a hot minute.

Then the Coronavirus flared up. And everything went back into lockdown. No more queso and chips at The Taco Palace. Then Congressman John Lewis died. It’s only July.

The Social Media Police

People have taken some hard-line positions on all these issues. And the self-righteous, Social Media Police, are in hot pursuit.

These days it’s not enough to simply “feel” anything. You must feel and openly proclaim your support. And, you must document your support on Social Media. Silence is considered opposition. You must openly proclaim your hatred for hate. Chew on that one for a minute.

Crossing the Rubicon

This kind of thinking drives me nuts. When did we get to a point where we had to publicly proclaim all our thoughts and feelings? And then stand trial in the Social Media court of public opinion. What happened to the proverbial “Judge not, lest ye be judged?”

I think this new normal is borne out of frustration. See, we are all driven by a deep restlessness in our soul. That nagging feeling that we were put here on Earth to “make a difference”.

We all envision finding that one thing that will quench our restlessness: a cause, a purpose. That one thing that will define our reason for living.

But somewhere in our search for meaning & purpose, we crossed the Rubicon River. People stopped respecting each other. Everyone got super pissy.

In fact, finger pointing has become a national past-time; an addiction for some folks. Jacking themselves up on the endorphin high from being self-righteously furious. It’s exhausting.

“Anger is nothing more than the outward manifestation of hurt, fear or frustration, or some combination of all three.”

Dr.Phil

We have a natural drive for harmony in our beliefs and actions. But that’s just not the way life works. When things fall out of harmony there’s a certain Cognitive Dissonance. And that’s where the trouble begins.

See, life is full of contradictions.

I know that the 24-hour news networks create programming to make me angry, but I watch them anyway.

I really want to be healthy but doggone it, bacon tastes good.

I find golf to be terribly frustrating but I keep playing it.

When it comes to the bigger cultural issues, it’s typical for our beliefs and actions to fall out of harmony.

It’s also typical for humans to disagree with one another. Cause issues like eliminating police brutality, solving racial inequities and controlling a worldwide pandemic are complicated and multi-faceted. Sometimes we can simply have conflicting beliefs and actions on a subject. And that conflict creates anxiety.

I think this graphic explains how most of us feel.

I think it’s possible to support the police and be outraged by police brutality. And, it’s possible to be saddened by the destruction of our community and still support peaceful protests. And it’s possible to be worried about a second wave of the pandemic and still wonder if the numbers are are being politicized.

But that’s not how some people think. They have no Cognitive Dissonance. Everything is crystal clear to them. Some “self righteous” people believe that there is only one way to look at things. And their way is the only way to see any issue.

Zone 6 Police Department in Atlanta. Georgia enjoying a free lunch from a grateful neighbor..

It’s a Free Country

Look, despite what you hear on TV, our country is 99% composed of good people. Actually, great people. The remaining 1% is comprised of complete knuckleheads. Unfortunately no society can completely rid itself of the knuckleheads. But it’s not the knuckleheads that are causing trouble.

The real trouble is from the self-righteous among us. These people don’t want others to enjoy the innumerable benefits that freedom brings to society? The freedom that allows people to make up their own damn minds.

“You are free to do as you please….as long as I agree with it.”

See, our discourse has eroded to the point where the loudest voices (Karen & Chad) lack any shred of humility. The only truth is their own infallible truth on a wide range of subjects. Just ask them.

It’s a total blurring of the lines between fact & opinion. People read a couple of Facebook posts and instantly become epidemiologists. Next month they’ll be an expert on something else.

Nobody likes a know-it-all. Nobody.

These opinions take on a deeper meaning for the self righteous class. The beliefs become a religion. The “faithful” become evangelists in an effort to convert the unconverted.

Why? Because we all want to believe we are special. Special enough to be part of a divinely chosen group. A group that will somehow remove human suffering. A group that will save the planet.

Their evangelism provides meaning and purpose to their lives. They are the foot soldier in the war; sharing their wisdom with “the great unwashed” among us. The ironic thing is that wisdom typically comes with a generous helping of humility. But with these people there is no humility. None. 

There is no recognition of other humans as fellow beings of light. It’s shirts or skins; which team are you on?

There is a complete surrender to the anger. And, I think some people are more addicted to the anger than the underlying cause. So much toiling, particularly in the Tik-Tok generation.

Wisdom

For me, there is humility in changing my mind…or improving my thinking. There is humility cause I’ve been wrong more than I’ve been right….about many things. And there is a 100% chance I will be wrong again.

You simply cannot have experience and wisdom - without having been wrong…a lot. And being wrong opens our minds to the possibility of being wrong….again. Humility begets humility, I guess.

“Maybe that’s enlightenment enough: to know that there is no final resting place of the mind; no moment of smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom...is realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go.”

Anthony Bourdain

I think we could get to a better place in this country if we set a new paradigm in motion.

“Let’s no longer pass judgement on one another, but resolve to simply look for opportunities to improve our thinking on difficult subjects.”

That’s it. Very simple.

For me, I want support the police in my community and stand up against police brutality.

I want to urge our politicians to crack down on the knuckleheads destroying our city. And support everyone’s right to peacefully protest.

I want to choose whether or not I wear my mask in public (I will).

I want to celebrate the differences between us, and laugh about how I just might be the whitest dude on the planet.  

And, in the meantime, I want people to go back to being happy again.

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