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What do you think was the biggest news event this past week -- either in your community, nationally, or globally? Talk about why it’s a big deal.
The biggest news this past week was the assembly of 20,000 National Guard troops to protect the Presidential Inauguration. I am 64 years-old and would have never believed citizens of United States of America would become so emotionally charged and violent that the military branch designed to protect our country from foreign invaders would be used as a deterrent to potential threats of its citizens. This action conveys the government expects chaos and lacks the respect of the citizens. I am saddened that the few who riot, loot, and destroy believe they have the right to destroy and take things that others worked so hard for.
January 18, 2021
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What do you think history books will say about this time? In your view, what's most important for them to include?
Well, I think they will write about how government and society failed in this crisis, making it far worse than it need have been. I think (and who knows, maybe I will write something about this) that they should include the disproportionate effect of the pandemic on the poor, the working class, and people of color (to say nothing of those who fall into multiple categories). I also hope they will avoid facile comparisons to earlier periods in history in history--Americans who lived through World War II ultimately did all they did because the government made them, whether it was military service, blackouts, or rationing, and had the kind of government leadership needed to get through a crisis like this, unlike now.
December 30, 2020