It could be years before we realize the many reverberations caused by this pandemic. It has affected so many parts of our lives beyond the loss of loved ones, the loss of jobs, and the loss of financial security for so many. Children are suffering from anxiety. Adults are succumbing to depression. Gun sales have increased – and so has murder. Police departments are operating at minimal capacity because some of the officers have been taken by COVID. Other departments have had to scale back due to financial shortage. There is an increase in deadly crimes, with fewer police officers to provide protection.
Police officers, originally, were trained to serve and to protect. Somewhere along the way they were transformed into homeland soldiers. People, especially those in colored communities, learned to fear the police, rather than to depend on them to keep them safe. A 911 call for some can turn an about face, landing them as perpetrator, rather than victim.
These times call for more compassion. These times require patience, understanding, and civility. We need least of all, more violence. This need to blame, condemn, and accuse others of perceived wrongs, serves no one. It does not matter what happened to us, however unfair, unjust, or underserved we deem it to be. What matters now is what we choose to do going forward. That which we put our attention on has a tendency to multiply. Like the virus, it becomes nearly unstoppable. These times require looking away from that which we do not wish to replicate. These times require forgiveness, acceptance, and kindness. Violence is not the answer to the dilemmas we face. Could we all just make a commitment to practice non-violence in 2021? Imagine where this might lead us, as a country and as one world.
