One of the problems with dealing with issues such as racial topics or police problems is that many people have a problem with leaving their comfort zones of all appears well. Tackling social problems means having to look inward and among our friends and look at things from a critical thinking point of view. It is unsettling for many.
The Covid-19 pandemic has placed discomfort on most of us.
The controversy over wearing masks seems to be about public rights and political disagreements. But those are the publicly discussed reasons. The un-talked about reason is deeper than that. It is the reality that we all vulnerable to an unseen danger. A danger we have no control over.
That is the underlining cause of the mask controversy.
Most of us are now beginning to see the world in the prism of a “new normal”.
The New Normal
In the new normal masks have become part of our attire. In the new normal, dining out is the exception and takeout is the reality. In the new normal, downtowns are empty and sports venues are all but empty.
But the new normal is also full of hope.
Riots may seem like counterproductive and destructive, but they are the foundation of a new future. Discussing what statues have merit in the community and which do not may make many uncomfortable, but they are the first step in correcting the distorted narrative about culture in America.
Like masks, the changing face of America is uncomfortable but necessary.
America needs to start looking at the narrative with a new lens.
American’s history has been sanitized for too long.
Consider the sad fact that Covid-19 kills disproportionality more Blacks and Hispanics than others. Why?
The simple answer is that it has to do with poverty and, or access to healthcare. But is it really that simple? Or is there more to the story?
Normal life, before the pandemic, was about the status quo. It was about the comfort of focusing on oneself and pretending the other issues are not one’s problem or, worse are not there.
But we are living in a new normal, one where comfort is forced to give way to reality.
Now that we are uncomfortable, we might as well get truly uncomfortable and deal with the festering wound that disfranchises people because of their social economic reality, their educational attainment or the color of their skin.
It is time to get out of your comfort zone and have a serious reckoning about what it truly means to be an American.
