I’ve never seen the world on fire like this, and I was literally walking through Newark, NJ around the time Rodney King was brutally beaten and LA was burning.
Hundreds of thousands dead from a pandemic? A global economy crushed under the same virus-infested boot? Riots in all major cities? Curfews and lockdowns worse than the ones triggered by the virus? What’s next? Locusts? Oh – wait! We have that, too.
This isn’t the 21st century I expected, and it’s rapidly devolving into one I don’t want. is2020over.com will make you cry and start packing, but there’s no place to go. Isn’t it time the world coalesced under one flag? Are we not stronger united? Isn’t it obvious that those who have are obligated to help those who don’t?
As a species, we’ve dug a very, very deep hole for ourselves. The only way out, without completely disintegrating into a Mad Max movie, is through global teamwork. The biggest hurdle, though, might be attention span – everyone wants rapid change, but changing behavior like this requires a geologic timescale. Pleading for patience is only effective when holding up a solid plan for change, and a very long calendar with clear milestones. It’s possible, but it’s a long journey. We didn’t get here overnight. We won’t get out of it quickly, either.