How Much Longer Will We Accept An American Society Like This?
Tags: Coronavirus, Inequality, Social Impact, Justice, Climate Change

If we want our country to get better, then we as a people must put in the work to create change together

Photo by Brandon Mowinkel on Unsplash

Dear fellow Americans,

How do you feel about the current state of our country?

As the people experience unprecedented rates of extreme poverty, our planet endures record breaking temperatures and excessive climate disasters. Millions have been negatively impacted by the federal response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and hundreds of thousands have died thus far.

I sense we are all coping differently with the reality of these ongoing crises, so I’m sending love to anyone experiencing loss in some way, shape, or form this year.

There are so many ways our collective society is suffering these days, but the brunt of this pain falls consistently on BIPOC and low-income communities. I think about all the parents where I live in Washington, D.C. who are unable to put food on the table for their families each day. I think about all the people who are displaced or unhoused, seeking shelter in tents as the days get shorter and the nights get colder. I think about all the people faced with unemployment who are in need of emergency financial assistance to pay their monthly bills.

I think about all this injustice and more in our nation’s capital and then wonder why so many people in our country are struggling to simply survive. Access to food, water and shelter are meant to be basic human rights, yet the security we all need to exist is a privilege in this country, not a right.

As the poor get poorer, the rich get richer and these days they are doing it quicker and quicker. Billionaires at the very top of the economic ladder have amassed another $1 trillion in wealth together since March alone.

While owners of corporations like Amazon, Walmart and Tyson Foods profit off the people, their employees continue to be underserved and exploited. Many have been exposed to the virus without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), and others are being denied hazard pay despite their essential nature.

By this instance, I’m reminded of the lack of urgency by the federal administration as the threat of COVID-19 grew, but little was done to prepare the public.

When hospitals across the nation first became overwhelmed with infectious patients, healthcare workers faced an extreme shortage of PPE. The government failed to provide these essential workers what they needed, so the people rose up instead sewing countless masks and piecing face shields together with recycled plastic to protect those fighting on the frontlines.

I remember hearing about such atrocities in the news, as stay at home orders went into effect indefinitely and the District of Columbia issued mask mandates. At first, I stayed home and did what I believed my part to slow the spread of the virus should be. But I soon recognized how my newfound lifestyle came from a possession of privilege.

While I worked from the comfort of my home, I would read articles about the grim reality of all the people in this world and in my own community being immensely impacted by COVID-19. I began to feel helpless and hopeless, uncertain there was anything I could do to help.

Though I would soon become unemployed myself in a city I’d moved to just two months prior, I knew many others would experience so much worse. The onset of the pandemic forced me to make a change in my own life and discover my purpose.

I decided that sitting at home waiting for all of this to be “over” was no longer enough. It took some time, but eventually I realized that there are so many ways to contribute to the community that align with my skills and interests.

I applied for a job with a mobile farmers market and started volunteering with local food hubs that serve some of the most vulnerable populations in the city.

The original plan was to volunteer until I started my full-time job with the occasional return visit when my schedule allowed me. But I felt a renewed sense of purpose through one organization that compelled me to return each week. I found comfort in the connections I made with people from surrounding neighborhoods as we exchanged greetings and grocery bags full of food. To this day, I still volunteer every Monday with this distribution site and I intend to keep showing up for them indefinitely.

My focus is now all about fighting for food justice. While working at the mobile farmers market, I also started growing my own food and soon found my purpose in the movement beyond this year and the pandemic.

I’ve had countless opportunities to build community and grow as an individual this year and I am eternally grateful for each and every moment. I’ve also been inspired by efforts of mutual aid and grassroots organizing across the city.

Amidst all the challenging and chaotic times of 2020, I’ve found safety and security from everyday people around me. On the other hand, those who have the political and economic power to care for the people have repeatedly failed. It is their responsibility to protect and serve us, but they don’t. They have every opportunity to help us, but they don’t.

This global pandemic is not over yet, and there’s no certainty when this will all end because we are still repeating the same mistakes. The United States currently accounts for 18 percent of the COVID-19 deaths worldwide while only representing 5 percent of the world’s population, and I fear that our situation will become much worse before it gets any better.

How much longer can we as a people live in a society like this?

I don’t understand why we have to live this way, why we will live in a world filled with such an abundance of suffering and pain. I’m extremely concerned and at times disheartened by the society I’ve inherited.

Even though I did not create any of these problems we’re going through, it is my duty to do what I can to try and make a positive difference. Not just in this moment, but for the rest of my life.

I understand that if we want to sustain our society and its place on this planet, then it is up to us to solve these problems and make a change. So when I see the people rising to protect and serve their communities and country, I have hope for a better tomorrow.

Are you taking action in this moment for the betterment of your community and our country? Is there more you can do to seek justice from our government, for the environment, for underprivileged groups of people, or some other purpose?

If we want a better world to live in for ourselves, for our children, and for the children of generations to come, then we must work towards this future together. Frankly, we no longer have a choice.

If our leaders fail to deliver justice, then we, the people, can and will do it ourselves.

Peace and Love,

TMI