“So, hands in the air, let’s hear it for
The start of a brand new America”
– Eminem on “Like Home“
It’s been a crazy year, hasn’t it? I’m thinking about the political season of 2020 and how divisive things got. In reality, I feel like it would’ve been even worse if people were going out more. But in a unique year, things played out the way they did. One takeaway I did get from political season 2020 is the importance of unifying…especially with the election behind us.
Before I get ahead of myself, welcome to the Ajaxxx.com December 2020 Opinions Column. If you’re new to the site, this is the place where I talk about what’s on my mind and what I’m thinkin’ about. If you’re returning to the site, welcome back! And with that said, let’s talk about coming together.
So this year has been a wild rollercoaster for many reasons. From COVID to the social injustices we kept seeing to the election, it seems like there was always something major happening. It’s been really exhausting for real. But as I mentioned earlier, this election really highlighted just how divided this country is. Now, I don’t know if it’s just because I’m older, or if I’m more in-tune with the issues, but it feels like things have progressively got worse. Whereas we were divided before, there was still a level of civility. And in the face of tragedy, we could still come together as Americans. Things feel different now.
I’m not sure if it’s the 24-7 news media, social media, or the need for more sensationalized headlines, but these have all played a role in what we’ve become. I’m usually able to catch misleading, or divisive, news reporting with the goal to cause uproar and stir up some anger towards each other. For news outlets, I guess it keeps the lights on. But for Americans, it pins us against each other (unless you’re able to tell the difference and not engage it). But the fact remains, it’s an issue that needs to be addressed.
The other thing, obviously, that has cause division is the rhetoric of the current president. I don’t need to even go into details, but I’ll share a video I did a few months ago with my feelings on the whole thing…
With so many people so angry, how can we return to a more unified country? Well, there’s a couple of things I’d like to point out about that. First of all, despite what the news reports, I don’t believe that we’re as divided as they depict. The news’ jobs is to tell a story, and not necessarily report realism. It’s boring to show people getting along; however, it’s more interesting (and will get more viewers) to see conflict. It’s a shame, but it’s the way things have evolved, unfortunately. So instead of getting down, or even mad, at how things have become, please remind yourself that it’s not AS bad as they make it out to be. We’re seeing the extreme examples through media, not the normal, everyday ones.
Another thing WE all can do is talk to each other. Reach out to your neighbor. Communicate with the co-worker who sits next to you. Quite often, people are influenced into thinking a certain way because of ignorance. You may be able to open up someone’s view just by having a conversation with them. Now granted, that not be the case in all instances, but it just might work.
Until news media stops being incentivized for reporting sensationalized stories, and politicians be held more accountable for their actions, I believe that things will still be less than stellar. However, through community, cause, and communication, we have the power to make a change. I’m optimistic for the upcoming administration to change the tone of the country, and also looking forward to the future. We have to be positive after a krazy year like 2020, right? Word.
Aight y’all, that’ll do it for me for this edition of the December 2020 Opinions Column. I’ve been playing around with the idea of changing up the format for the Opinions Column, but still unsure of how exactly I should do it. The truth is, I started the Opinions Column in 2004 and I’ve been consistently posting a column every month for the last 15 years (that’s krazy, right? Lol). And with the evolution of the internet, SEO, and things of that nature, I’m not sure if this format works anymore. I used to use this to talk about ALL my thoughts, but that doesn’t really work with the “article” format that we see in today’s digital age. It’s evolved a bit over the last few years, especially with version 2 of this site, but more into an inspirational blog-type section. I’m not even sure how it evolved to that lol, but yeah. Anyway, I’ll spend the holidays and think about the best way to move forward. If you’ve got any ideas for me, feel free to leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.
I’ll be posting my year-in-review soon, which I generally do around this time of the year. Please look out for that too.
Until then (and until 2021), stay up, stay safe, and hold ya head. Ajaxxx signing out, PEACEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels
