So it's December 31, 2016, and this year is ending. As years go, it hasn't been the best.
The list of deaths of influential people compiled by Wikipedia is overwhelming, especially when you realize that it is only to December there. We mourn celebrity deaths because these people touch our lives, but the grief of their families is no different than the grief of the families of the non-famous. The list on Wikipedia is small compared to the number of people whose deaths only affect their families and friends, but no less meaningful. My friends who have lost loved ones, I continue to send my love and support to you.
Politically, we have learned many things. One, we are a very fractured country; two, we have shapeless fears; and three, we value ignorance and our own views much more than we should. Our fault lines are multiple: we break on race, gender, education, location, and economic class. These breaks play into our fears; fearful people are easily manipulated, and our ignorance only makes us more fearful. Whether through school or not, we must educate ourselves back into a people who look at things objectively and then make decisions--we cannot let the Internet choose our news and our views. We must use it as the tool it is, and not allow our fractures to control our access to the world.
On a personal level, my mom now lives here and her dementia progresses as such things will. Hopefully, her medicines help slow things a bit; we also hope that our company and the company of others help slow things down as well. She lives in the here and now, and the very far past. It is very much a one day at a time thing.
I will admit my mother's dementia terrifies me. I fear for myself. My world revolves around words and memories and peoples. It terrifies me that this could happen to me. Not existing terrifies me, but existing but having those things that are vital to me missing scares me. I can only try to prevent this from happening and hope for something better.
Hoping for something better is one thing we can do, but we (or at least I) must also work to make things better. I will not lie and say I see a bright future politically, but I will do my best to work to keep things moving forward.
So its forward we must go and stay focused on going. Regression is not acceptable.
So here's to a better 2017 and a happy new year, and keep up the good fight!
