An Invitation To The Hero’s Of Tomorrow

This might sound crazy, and for years I have allowed people to believe that of me. As of this moment though, I am not crazy. Perhaps yesterday or tomorrow but not today.

Since 2016 I have known something big was going to happen. I did not keep this information to myself. I would hear “ oh, that’s just crazy Heather.” Smiling, fondly as they said it.

Fast forward two years the smiles were not an accompaniment.

The first time I heard about COVID-19 was on January 2nd. The television was just background noise I happen to glance at it, and scrolling at the bottom of the screen was a headline about a new virus originating from China.

Though my conscience became aware of it, my curiosity took a back seat to the fact, that I would be newly homeless after having a home for 8 months.

Finding our way around a new city in a new state took precedence over events transpiring in a different part of the globe.

I forgot all about it until reading a headline while standing in a convenience store line. It said they were sending refugees, from a cruise ship off the coast of California to San Antonio, Texas.

My curiosity was piqued yet, life still demanded more of my time. Homelessness is a full-time job.

It wasn’t until the local church I frequented every Tuesday afternoon for a meal and a shower, made us stay outside. No shower. That I was made to realize how bad it really was.

For the first three months of 2020 I had no phone. Which meant no communication and no information.

I skimmed the news looking for actual facts. Ignoring all the fear-mongering created to sell the news.

Honestly, they didn’t seem to know a whole lot about anything. But, I could see panic everywhere.

I have never had a formal education. My knowledge of human behavior has come from my adulthood spent in customer service.

I have always been fascinated by people and what makes them tick. I have studied human behavior, in all its unique complexities for over 20 years.

With this knowledge, I was accurately able to predict the timeline of events so far. My boyfriend was my reluctant sounding board.

He, like so many Americans, is refusing to see the reality of the situation. He’s still trying to do the day today as if normal days are ahead. They are not. They never will be again.

I see the struggle between holding on and letting go. There are some that have surprisingly, no problem accepting and embracing this change. They have become kinder, gentler, compassionate, and generous.

But, there are always those who are willing to fight, literally, to the end. Super patriots carrying guns, rifles, and my personal favorite a rocket launcher.

Wanting to open up a society that, is not only broken, no longer exists.

I hail from the Nirvana generation. I read about a study that stated that my generation was the least likely to be scammed.

No big surprise there. We, Gen Xers, have no trust in anybody or anything, especially the government.

It is time for us to stand up and find a way to salvage this once powerful nation.

I have nothing against baby boomers other than their time has past. Has been since 2008. Their outdated trickle-down economy has one major flaw.

GREED.

The class that has never wanted for anything. That was taught Regonomics and capitalism at their father’s knee. Was given handout after handout. While the working class got poorer and poorer.

My generation started our adult life mired in debt. Our children’s generation even more so.

Realizing, the federal government paid no attention to the loans they were backing. Colleges raised tuition to outrageous amounts.

By the time the federal government realized what was happening, generations of graduates were drowning in debt. Not just from student loans.

Mortgages, car loans, and insurance deductibles were ensuring that retirement would be out of reach for most. Savings accounts were becoming relics.

The middle class that FDR had created was annihilated, by greed with barely a peep from our sedated society.

Watching the deterioration of the economy is like watching a child break a toy because they didn’t know that throwing it to the floor would cause it to break.

To be fair they had no idea a pandemic would come and decimate the economy. Unfortunately, for them it did.

Fortunately, for us it did. What all of us need to realize is, the only way for us to come out if this intact is, to work together.

No matter race, gender, or ethnicity if you are not in the top 1% you are in the same sinking boat as the rest of us.

Your Republican buddies are not going to throw you a life preserver. They won’t even give you enough masks so you can work safely.

We are all just +/- in their books. They will sacrifice us all to save themselves.

This world we live in has become unsustainable on all fronts. We are printing money with no backing.

Our government has shut down not once but, several times because of disagreements over their funding. We have a historic deficit and this is before COVID-19 shut the world economy down.

I am not an anarchist. I believe in a fair central government with checks and balances, who were all voted in by popular not electoral votes.

A Justice System that actually practices our eighth amendment right to be innocent until proven guilty.

No longer should people remain in jail because they are poor and unable to pay their bond.

During this world crisis, we have witnessed how selfish and greedy our federal government has become. There has been no compassion, no transparency, and very little funding for vital essentials.

There is no justification for why our states had to beg for masks and ventilators.

Our president has gone so far as to say the states should have been prepared for this. Seriously. That’s what the federal government is for.

A failed FEMA pandemic drill does not count.

He then leaves the land of negligence and hovers in the realm of criminality. By recommending an unproven drug that ends up having several unwanted side effects.

In all honesty, when I first heard that our president recommended injecting yourself with bleach; I thought it had to be a joke.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t.

America has never been a democracy. It was founded by rich white men and been maintained, for the most part, by rich white men.

It is time to make America what it has only pretended to be. A Democratic society based on equality. No matter race, gender, or ethnicity, every American citizen should be equal under the law.

There is so much energy wasted on anger and hate. Forgiveness and love is a much easier way to live.

I know there are those who would ridicule this way of thinking. Believing it to be some fantastical, utopian, unattainable dream.

They are wrong. There is just as much capacity for love in a person as there is for hate.

Nature vs nurture is a long-standing psychological debate. Many are starting to believe that both have their part to play.

I am no expert and this is my own personal belief. People are inherently good. I will admit to a bad apple here and there.

I believe that hate is taught through example and abuse.

This is not something fixed quickly, nor will it not have its opponents. There are always those that will hang on to a sinking ship, even as their lungs fill with water.

This is not something that can be forced. This needs to be taught by example.

All of the small factions in all the cities in all the states need to band together. Put aside any differences and personal ambitions to become part of an idea that will change the world.

No more war, hunger, unnecessary illnesses. This is our Nation. This is our World.

No matter the color of your skin or the language that you speak we are all brothers and sisters.

We all bleed when we are cut. We shed tears when we mourn. And laughter can heal so many wounds.

I call myself the Queen of Silver Linings. I have not yet been unable to find the good in any given situation. Help me prove the existence of a silver lining in COVID-19.

It couldn’t be easier than learning love and empathy. Realizing hate and selfishness not only destroys the victim but, also you and everyone around you.

If we finally break free from society’s cages. When we all have an equal chance at the knowledge the universe holds. There’s absolutely nothing we can’t accomplish.