My Personal 2020 Reflections. What about yours?
I was on the phone with a rabbi earlier this week, and we came up with the idea to pull together a small group of people to reflect on what we’ve learned about society and ourselves during this past year. God knows, it’s been a hard, tumultuous year.
We’re living through four simultaneous crises (a global pandemic, economic upheaval, systemic racism and social injustice, and political turmoil) that are wreaking havoc on our lives and communities. These crises have laid bare long-standing inequities and disparities that we can no longer turn away from, turn our back on, turn inward to escape.
No, there is no escaping where we are and who we are. Nor can we simply try to go back to so-called normal. “Normal” wasn’t good or acceptable for so many people in our country. So many Americans have not been part of this nation’s promise. So many individuals have not had the opportunities to fulfill their God-given potential. Going back to normal is not an option.
Our fundamental task is to come together to re-imagine and recreate our lives, our communities, and thus the nation itself. As Eddie Glaude entitled his recent and essential book about James Baldwin, we must “begin again.”
Our nation has sought to do this time and again. We began with the very Revolution that gave rise to this nation. We fought a civil war and abolished slavery. We enacted women’s suffrage, civil rights and voting rights and gay rights. Progress has been made, but not nearly enough. Let’s be clear: there is real work to be done and it will be hard work to do.
And so, personally, I have found this time to be invigorating in engaging in these current struggles and in the urgency to repair the breaches in our society. I have been inspired by our team at The Harwood Institute as we have had to innovate to keep our work going and relevant. And yet, truth be told, I often find myself deeply struggling with how to navigate these times, how to find adequate responses, how to fight off unending exhaustion, how to battle loneliness amid near-constant connection, how to find grace.
These times require personal vigilance, strength and, yes, true vulnerability. They ask us to step forward and declare, “here I am,” so that we can together create a more just, equitable, fair, inclusive and hopeful society. This means making oneself visible and accountable just when you might want to hunker down and retreat.
I have not lost hope. To the contrary, my heart swells with hope. I both deeply love this country and know that we have failed and fallen short in so many profound ways. But because of my deep love of country, I choose to fight to right these wrongs.
Over the next few weeks, I plan to think more about what I have learned over this past year. I wonder what you have learned about the country and about yourself? I hope you’ll write to me and share your thoughts.
Amid our pain and losses this year, I wish that you find joy and rest during these upcoming holidays. Let us renew ourselves for the times ahead so that we can renew our lives and country.
