by Rick Thompson/originally published in The Rolling Paper December 2020 issue
Joe Biden won the election fair and square. Although he wasn’t my first choice for President he is the guy I voted for. After the election, our negotiations with the Marijuana Regulatory Agency had the desired effect- the bill to consolidate the medical and adult-use cannabis business licensing types has been postponed until next year. We had a seemingly-successful parole board hearing for cannabis prisoner Michael Thompson. Lots of things have gone right since November 3rd has passed.
So why do I have the New Year Blues?
Truth be told, I’m still afraid of the virus. Still afraid of what next year looks like, from an employment standpoint and from a personal one. Will the vaccine end the panic or cause more conflict? Will those who proclaimed the virus would be gone after the election, because it was all al liberal hoax to shame Donald Trump, will those people see the light and mask up? I don’t know. For some, I think they’ll never agree there is danger.
Admittedly, I am afraid of the virus, but that’s not why I have the blues. I am a little blue because I’m torn between what I want to do and what I am supposed to do. I’m supposed to forgive people who said the most hateful and ludicrous things about the Democrats before the election. I’m supposed to move on past the lies told on social media, the hateful spew spread by bigoted no-class character types and conspiracy embracers. I perceive my role as a peacemaker because I see better things coming from a community which is together, than I see coming from a community divided.
I don’t forget. I can set transgressions aside, temporarily, to work with reprehensible bastards for the purpose of accomplishing good. It’s hard to be a peacemaker when you do not have peace in your heart. I do not have peace in my heart, not yet, not for those who sought to rip asunder the fabric of this nation by perpetuating a leader proven to be ill-intentioned and ill-equipped. Trump apologists and enablers should be labeled indelibly as such, and their lasting legacy should forever be tarnished with the stain of his name.
So I am blue for the New Year, because I don’t want to play well with others. I aim to misbehave, as Malcolm Reynolds once said. I’m pretty good at it, actually. I just modernized my style a little.
But peacemaker it is, and I will be better for it. Responsibility is a burden carried at the shoulder, not dragged behind you. We can all do more good by being nice than we can by being rude, mean and callous, even if you are witty and slick with your rudeness.
One thing is clear about 2021: we are going to need each other. On a global scale. Our superficial differences are not the real danger in the coming 12 months. We face challenges which cross international boundaries, face human disasters of refugees and hunger and the inevitable resistance of a society moving from a fossil fuel economy to a renewable energy world.
So I am resolved to play as well with others as I can manage. Please join me in creating a more tolerant, less confrontational 2021.
