2024 has been quite the year. Five years have passed since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, and with it, people’s lives have changed. The social landscape was altered worldwide, socializing with others limited, thus leading to attentive interactions and how to stay present and connected despite the challenges. The world slowly recovered throughout the last few years. Why am I rehashing this now? Bear with me.
During the last few years, people have been eager to see things return to a semblance of normality amidst the grief of so much loss, changed family dynamics, friendships, workplaces, etc. Just as things seemed to quiet down and become increasingly positive, the changed societal structure would reveal, no longer concealable, the wounds and scars it endured while navigating through uncharted waters. It is not a pretty picture.
The subtle and not-so-subtle division of people created by opposite or radically different experiences grew. Discontent, annoyance, relief, hopefulness, love, anger, depression, elation, care, hatred, and carelessness – all terms were thrown out into the previously familiar or typical landscape, yet that scenery has irreversibly shifted. The get-along masks show wear and tear, and the meekly simmering emotional cauldrons are bubbling up: a recipe for an inedible, potentially lethal brew.
I rarely delve into political discourse (the latter herein intended as an exchange of communication meant to build meaning and understanding, prompting questions and a desire to appreciate different viewpoints). That said, the 2024 presidential election in the United States was the epitome of the division permeating the fabric of society: the antithesis of individual freedom against community freedom laid bare in the blinding spotlight of brazenness and impudence (unchecked, unaccountable, destructive) versus empowerment and inclusivity (informed, open-minded, and constructive).
Though no one knows what 2025 will bring, plenty of speculations exist. Those theories and hints are based – on the one hand – on what the winning political party intends to pursue and has openly communicated (plausibly in line with the image of a totalitarian household supporting a megalomaniacal autocrat figurehead whilst waving a handheld fan to scatter rank draughts of fascism). On the other hand, on how the defeated party will (paraphrasing) man the ramparts through the perilous fight to give proof that the land of the free and the home of the brave is for all its people and not for a Lilliputian court of hoodwinkers.
Undoubtedly, the year ahead will be challenging on many levels. Regardless of political affiliation, citizenship status, race, gender, and individual beliefs and morals, no one will be exempt from the government’s actions. The first action promised by the president-elect will be to start mass deportations soon after the transfer of power. Though I am a legal immigrant and permanent resident of this country, but also a woman, an LGBTQ+ member, and a Texas resident, I cannot pretend to feel completely safe. Yet I know my rights under the United States Constitution and will exercise them and fulfill my obligations.
Fear-mongering seems on a fast track to new heights, partly fueled by that boiling cauldron of social division. Race, gender, religion, and age are examples of demographics at the center of the societal fabric and how they can be used for (or against) one social aggregate group or another. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are concepts and practices that unite people, foster respect, are valued, and defy systemic barriers. I invite you to remember that, in the words of John Donne, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” Be kind, love, and respect one another.
Former President Jimmy Carter (2002 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for work to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development) once said, “The experience of democracy is like the experience of life itself: always changing, infinite in its variety, sometimes turbulent and all the more valuable for having been tested by adversity. We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.” – Stay strong.
Thanks for this engaging article Sabi with your illuminating perspectives on what 2025 may bring.
Certainly, plenty for a reader like myself looking in from outside the US to reflect and chew on. Especially as many of the issues you mention are likely to impact countries and communities way beyond North America.
Wishing you all the best for this coming year. Hold on tight and stay strong to your values and beliefs. I know you will.