Guest Contribution of 2020 Year in Review - A Year To Never Repeat
It’s hard to believe the news got worse, but it did. The
World Health Organization labeled the coronavirus a “pandemic” in March. As a
result, the stock market went into free fall over the next several months,
including the worst one-day fall in history, almost 3,000 points in April. The
loss was greater than Black Monday in 1929. By late December over 330,000
Americans had died from the virus and it was raging so badly, bodies were
placed in refrigerated trailers as morgues were filled to capacity. Over 60
million cases were reported worldwide by mid-November.
Sports as we knew them, changed drastically. The Olympics
and the NCAA basketball tournament were suspended; the MLB season was reduced
to 60 games played with no fans. Football was a dumpster fire.
The worst wildfires in history hit California at one point
resulting in Sacramento having the worst air quality in the world. Over 4% of
the state burned down. The government’s position that global warming and
climate change were an unsubstantiated theory fueled dismay by reasonable
people.
The killing of unarmed minorities such as Breonna Taylor
and George Floyd by police led to national and international upheaval by
thousands who rallied in protests against police brutality and promoted the
Black Lives Matter contingency into civil rights history.
President Trump continued to divide America with his
draconian rhetoric during his campaign, holding rallies exposing thousands to
the virus promoting no safeguards.
Thankfully, he was defeated soundly in the election,
nevertheless, refusing to admit defeat making himself and the US look
ridiculous to the rest of the world.
Our heroes were indisputably the health care workers who
constantly and tirelessly put their own health and lives at risk to care for
the ill and dying. They were truly saints.
Those we lost in 2020 were notable; Kobe Bryant, Don Shula,
Carl Reiner, Alex Trebek, Sean Connery and Chuck Yeager. Personally, I
contemplate the loss of a few of those who shaped who I am, scary as that may
sound; Bob Gibson, Whitey Ford, Al Kaline, Leslie West (more cowbell), and especially
John Lewis and Ruth Ginsberg. May they all rest in peace.
Let’s all hope for a healthy, prosperous and happy 2021. We
all deserve it.
Copyright by Elk Grove News © 2020. All right reserved.
Posts
Post a Comment