2020, Be Gone!

As this terrible year finally approaches its end, all I can say is 'Be Gone!'

Has a year -- any year -- ever been this horrible for so many people? Not in recent history. I would guess that the closest any year has come to bringing so much death and suffering was 1918, when the flu pandemic ran rampant. Estimates are that some 50 million people around the world died of the flu, with some 675,000 American lives lost. Coronavirus, by contrast, has so far killed more than 1.78 million people, 338,000 in the US. And these horrible figures are despite great improvements in health care since 1918. The holiday surge in travel is expected to dramatically increase the number of infections and deaths in the US. And a new, more contagious variant of the virus has appeared in several countries, including the US.

Millions have lost their jobs or had their hours cut dramatically. More than 100,000 businesses have closed for good. Children and teachers had to learn about remote learning via computer. Incidents of domestic violence and suicide increased, as did sales of alcohol. Millions are facing loss of homes and apartments.

On a personal front, this year saw the death of my dog from cancer, following the loss of her sister a year ago. That's two deaths in just more than a year. My cousin, her husband and their two high school age children came down with coronavirus. My close friend lost her 15-year-old dog to cancer. An online friend lost her 5-year-old dog to cancer. Another friend just lost her 14-1/2-year-old dog. A neighbor lost her nearly 13-year-old dog to cancer. I have been unable to travel due to the pandemic. 

People are waiting in line for eight or nine hours for a box of food. Non-profit organizations are struggling to survive as donations and volunteer help dwindle. I developed kidney stones and went through three treatments to get rid of them. And now I have new ones.

The Republican party continues its ridiculous attempts to overturn the will of the people and install an autocrat as King Donald I. That won't work, of course, but it shows how desperate and depraved the party has become as it struggles feverishly to turn American into an oligarchy, where power and money are held only by a small group of old, white men. 

The cult followers of the would-be autocrat must be dealt with as they try to destroy the country and attempt to return America to a nation where only white men have power. Minorities and women must, in their view, be put in their places. As the new administration will be inaugurated -- an administration with a -- gasp!! -- woman of color as vice president, and a cabinet that represents the diversity of America -- these throwbacks to the 18th century are beside themselves. They are desperate to hold onto their 'white men only' version of America. They are losing power, and they are terrified, which makes them desperate as their 'dear leader' encourages their violent, hate-filled resistance to the rule of law.

So yes, let us put this horrible  year behind us. Let us start the process of healing our country, a country that has come close to being destroyed by a psychotic autocrat who has no interest in governing, but who wants only the power and attention he so desperately craves. Let us say goodbye not only to the year 2020, but also to the the horror of the past 4 years.