Last year about this same time, I began in earnest to campaign to be the State Representative for the 109th District. This time last year, I was either going to an event or walking door to door to meet with potential voters.
There was a lot of time and effort on the part of many of my family and friends to help me go from a candidate for State Representative to taking the oath of office on Jan. 13th. These friends and family members were not able to travel to Springfield to witness the House Inauguration ceremony due to COVID-19 restrictions. Even my wife was not able to attend the ceremony.
The inability to have guests at the Inauguration reminded me of what so many have gone through this past year. How many student athletes had to forfeit their senior year due to the pandemic? How many people were unable to visit relatives suffering from non-COVID-19 illnesses? How many weddings and other special events were canceled or held with only a handful of people?
There is a lot of talk about the “new normal,” but there is nothing normal about what is happening in our country right now. Student athletes should be able to play their chosen sports and parents should be able to go to watch their kids play in person. Sick people in the hospital should be able to have visitors come see them. Weddings and birthday parties should not have to be canceled.
Yes, we need to take safety precautions and protect public health, but we should not lose sight of what we have forfeited as a result of our response to this virus and we must make every effort to find ways to establish some form of normalcy as often as we can.
Is it any wonder that our society is more divided than ever at a time when we are more isolated than ever? Folks gathered at a football game are not concerned about the politics of their fellow fans in the stands. The people there are united in their devotion to the home team. Concerts, sporting events, community festivals and events bring us together and unite us. For the better part of a year, we have not had these experiences to bring us together.
Instead of going to concerts or even something as mundane as going out to eat, many are turning to social media to find the connections that are missing in their lives. But social media is not a unifying force. Far from it.
Social media is polarizing and divisive and it has a tendency to bring out the worst in people. Social media is fanning the flames of tribalism and dividing us even more and it is only getting worse – not better.
We must categorically reject the notion of this as the “new normal” and work toward a return of the old normal. Our nation needs the comradery that comes with joining fellow fans at a football game instead of the isolation that comes from staring at a phone for hours on end. The events, the causes, and above all the people who bring us together are vital to a healthy and happy society. Let’s make 2021 the year we return to the “old normal.”
