Starting January 1, 2021 hindsight will truly be 2020. How often have we all used the expression: “Hindsight is 2020?” It is true that seeing things through a past lens often makes us see the error of our ways or teaches a life lesson. However, this year will surely put a new spin on the expression as we all have much to discern from 2020.
I have given some thought to this and although I can’t speak for others this is what I have learned from 2020. First, I learned that too many people are sheep that will listen to any nonsense that is told to them without doing any research on their own. Plus, too many people are afraid of their own shadows and will be led around by their noses. That makes me sad because this country was founded by people who took the bull by the horns and fought back from horrific problems and formed this incredible country that I hardly recognize. Now, I am not saying that Covid 19 isn’t a real virus but the fact that so many people stayed locked in their houses for months is just ridiculous. So many people still don’t understand that being isolated for so long is far more unhealthy than any virus. Don’t get me started on what this isolation does to children, seniors and the disabled.
I found that there are far too many people in government who enjoy their power way too much and they enjoy playing to the fears of their citizens. Sadly, it is mostly Democrat mayors and governors who ordered the most severe lockdowns. They just figure the bottomless federal bank will bail them out. It doesn’t matter to them that their economy is collapsing as long as they can wield power. I can’t help but question why the people in those jurisdictions voted for those people and then reelected them. Ben Franklin said, “Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty or safety.” He was so right but sadly our students don’t hear this quote but by golly they hear a lot of what Castro or other socialists like him had to say.
I have learned that it is okay to shoot police officers, rape, assault, loot and attack the infrastructure that makes this country run and function, including the vehicles of first responders, as long as you say words, such as the following, made you do it. These words include: hate speech, racism, systemic racism, #Metoo, I am pro choice or if someone has voiced words that hurt your feelings to name a few. It doesn’t matter that you have killed or injured people or destroyed the lively hood of fellow Americans as long as what you are doing makes you feel good. I have also learned that a lot of politicians agree with this philosophy and even protect the perpetrators and everyone with a brain should see how tragic this is proving to be.
I have learned that Abraham Lincoln was right when he said, “”Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest, with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force take a drink from the Ohio or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years. At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer. If it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide.” We are seeing this everyday as more and more people just follow the dictates of elected officials, who do not have the best interests of this country or its citizens at the fore front, as sheep being led to the slaughter.
I have learned that our young people today and sadly many older people don’t know their history. This is proven by the number of statues being knocked down. I don’t believe in sanitizing history and we need to realize that even though slavery was a horrid stain on this country’s history it doesn’t mean that the Confederate leaders were evil, immoral men. The same for our Founding Fathers. I used to tell my students that it is wrong to look back on another time and try to superimpose what we know to be right and true now. Then I watch uneducated fools knocking down statues of people who helped free the slaves or, in the case of President Grant, who did more for the freed black people of this country than anyone until the Civil Rights Acts were passed. Our public school system is pathetic and people with children need to be aware of how their children are being taught. Our institutions of higher learning are truly a pathetic sight. A place where young people should be taught to learn and engage in other views have become, for the most part, a cesspool of liberal nonsense. Universities and colleges that once were revered are now a joke in my never to be humble opinion.
I have learned just how many politicians in this country don’t respect people’s right to worship. For many of these officials the first places they went after were the churches and synagogues. I don’t recall hearing about an order directed at mosques. This should have been a huge wake up call for people. Our Founding Fathers made freedom of religion a part of the first Bill of Rights. People of strong faith are less likely to fall for the claims of lying politicians and they know this. Thank God for people like Rick Renner, and Franklin Graham to name two men of God who are not afraid to bring up God’s word to refute what these left wing politicians are spewing. Thank God, also, for the Supreme Court demanding that municipalities rescind their unreasonable and unconstitutional controls on places of worship.
I have learned that is appears that a lot of palms are being greased by big companies like Amazon to ruin the small businesses and thus control commerce in this country. My family and I try as often as possible to buy from local businesses but it isn’t always possible. It makes me sad to see the vacant buildings that once held small but thriving businesses.
I have learned that there is no shame when it comes to saying and promoting anti-American sentiment especially by our professional athletes. Where do I start when Hollywood is brought into play. Most of the people in the entertainment business are so vacuous and empty in their statements that I cringe as I remember an industry that once loved this country and lined up to do tours to entertain our troops over seas.
I have also learned that a lot of people including supposedly intelligent people don’t understand the difference between a journalist and just some fool telling people what to think. A true journalist gathers information and then presents that information, in as unbiased a fashion as possible, to the citizens and lets them decide how to feel about that information.
I have also learned that there are still a lot of God fearing, caring people who will share what they have with those who need. The idiots that ran around buying hundreds of rolls of toilet paper and then tried to sell them were dwarfed by those who shared food and sundries with those who had little. The people who volunteered in hospitals, nursing homes and other places where people in need were found far surpassed the selfish, narcissistic people who tried to exploit those who had little.
I know the maxim, “Necessity is the mother of invention” is true but until this pandemic I never saw such a great example as what I have seen with the Covid 19 vaccine. My question is why can’t pharmacology labs do the same for so many other illnesses such as Parkinson’s, MS, and diabetes for example?
Lastly, if your head is spinning from all that has happened in the last year, I recommend a book called “How To Keep Your Head On Straight In A World Gone Crazy” by Rick Renner. It helps put in perspective what is happening in these later days.