My Grown-up Christmas List: Understanding Over Ignorance
By: Grace Gagnon
Tags: Climate Change, BlackLivesMatter, Christmas, Wildlife, Covid 19

Photo by Martin Vysoudil on Unsplash

Dear Santa,

The last time I wrote to you I was about 11 years old. I asked for a new American Girl Bitty Baby doll and probably some clothes. Putting together my Christmas list used to bring me so much joy. I loved the excitement of writing to you, thinking it would soon reach the North Pole.

I know I’m no longer a child. It’s been a while, but I feel a letter to you has never been more appropriate. Unfortunately, my wish list isn’t quite as cheerful as a new babydoll. The world is falling apart. It’s too much. So, 13 years later, I am writing to you again.

Santa Claus, here’s my grown-up Christmas List…

At this time last year, I and many others were excited for 2020. Each New Year feels like a fresh start. You enter the year with resolutions. Maybe find a new job, build a dream home, or finally take a trip across the pond.

How quickly our New Year aspirations were demolished.

We started off 2020 with disastrous wildfires scorching millions of acres in Australia. I’m sure you saw it on the news. Officials have declared it among “the worst wildlife disasters in modern history.”

Australia’s 2019–2020 Wildfire Season ravaged nearly 46 million acres of land. As reported by Al Jazeera, 3 billion animals were either killed or displaced. Those 3 billion affected lives include 2.46 billion reptiles, 180 million birds, and 51 million frogs. Those innocent creatures are lost, but they cannot die in vain. In their memory, you need to help us prevent losing more wildlife.

Wildfires are a natural disaster, only made worse by the climate crisis. Please, help worldwide leaders unify to fight climate change. We can’t afford to lose this much land and kill off entire species of animals any longer.

If deadly wildfires weren’t enough, we were hit with a global pandemic. As of December 20, we now have 76.5 million reported cases of COVID-19 worldwide, with a total of 1.69 million reported deaths.

Luckily for you, the North Pole is isolated. Word on the street, Santa Claus is immune to COVID-19. Though you’re immune, I know you have friends in high places. Time to give them a call.

Some families haven’t seen loved ones since last Christmas. Daughters and sons lost their parents, without having a chance to say goodbye. People died. Too many people needlessly died.

Small businesses open for 50+ years shut down because they didn’t receive enough help. While they may seem like just stores or restaurants, they are livelihoods. They drive our local economies. Local restaurants, bookstores, boutiques, and coffee shops bring people joy…the joy we need right now.

Santa, find a way to give our small businesses the means to survive.

To make matters worse, people have turned this pandemic into political warfare. It seems anytime mask-wearing and public health is brought up, people argue.

I am so sick of the arguing. It’s not what we need right now. What we need is to come together. Please, unite the people. It’s the only way we’ll get out of this pandemic.

Finally, racism is very real in the United States. Systemic racism has led people to believe “All Lives Matter” is a more appropriate movement than “Black Lives Matter.”

All lives can’t matter until Black lives do, too.

According to the Washington Post, 220 Black people were shot and killed by police in 2020. We protested tirelessly in 2020. We signed thousands of petitions. We called on leaders and organizations. We argued on social media. It hasn’t been enough.

COVID-19 has only magnified systemic inequalities with non-white Americans, especially Black, Hispanic, and Native American people, facing higher COVID-19 hospitalizations and death rates in the U.S.

Why is that? If the statistics were reversed and white people were dying at an unprecedented rate, maybe then, people would take the pandemic more seriously.

Being non-white shouldn’t be a death sentence. Empower us to continue having conversations about racism. Help us ignite the fight. You might just be the most powerful influencer out there. Use your platform to end racism.

Well, Santa, we are nearing the end of my letter. I know it seems like I’ve asked for quite a bit, but there won’t be Christmas for much longer if our entire planet is ruined by climate change and we all die from COVID…or we kill each other simply because we lost all regard for human life. It’s morbid but true.

I fear the mentality that 2021 will magically be better. It won’t be better unless we make it better. Our planet will die if we continue abusing our resources. COVID-19 won’t disappear unless we all find a common solution. Our local businesses will perish if we don’t find a way to support them. Racism will continue to take lives unnecessarily if people don’t stand behind Black Lives Matter.

I hope you help people choose understanding over ignorance, in the very least. I think that’ll make a world of a difference.

Thanks for everything, Santa. As a token of my appreciation, I’ll be sure to leave out *spiked* egg nog this year.

Give Rudolph a kiss for me.

All the best,

Grace

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