2019

I don't need to tell you how polarized we are these days. Gone are the days of civil discussion. Respect rots with the dinosaurs. The marketplace of ideas that made our nation great is rather empty now, unless you count those boxes of labels some like to slap on anyone with a differing worldview. We spent much of 2019 at each other's throats, willing to discard lifelong friendships and even family for nothing more than a difference of opinion. Cherished friends attack my worldview openly on social media these days, unwittingly labeling me as this or that in their comments. Do they care that they hurt me? Probably not. It's easy enough to get new "friends" on Twitter.

The discovery that I'm disposable wasn't limited to social media. 2019 was a year of neglect and even abuse. I won't go into it here, but I suffered. A lot.

So I guess the point of this rambling post is to offer a deep curtsy to the artistic geniuses who hauled something beautiful out of the gutter in 2019. I couldn't. The fear of offending someone clipped my wings, and as the year closes, I wonder if I'll ever fly again.