This year I’ve sat by and watched as a debate has been waged between the country’s leading healthcare officials and various governing politicians. And the debate itself is tantamount to genocide.
As a child born into a Jewish family I was taught about the holocaust. I was told that this happened. I was promised that we will remember. I was given reassurance that it would never happen again.
As a student I remember returning home from elementary school confused. I was told there was a genocide going on in Darfur. I didn’t understand how this could be happening. I had been instructed my entire life that this type of thing happened once before I was born … but, it would never ever happen again! Not on our watch. Yet in my lifetime I’ve seen it happen too many times to count. What happened to the promises that were made to my generation?
What do we call it when leaders discourage people from taking steps to protect themselves from a disease that is ravaging the country? What do we call it when leaders usher their follows to a mass slaughter? How will the history books depict this type of leadership?
The butcher’s bill has surpassed 350,000.
We are so fond of calling ourselves the leaders of the free world — and there has never been a more important time to lead than now.
Most well-informed Americans are well-aware of both the numbers and the horror stories. These things are happening … right now … in this country … on our watch.
We’re taught that you must secure your own oxygen mask before helping others.
As we find ourselves at the epicenter of a global health crisis it’s time to secure our oxygen masks. It’s time for America to lead by example. The time for American innovation is here. The time is now.
The power dynamics in the country are shifting and many among us do not believe in the legitimacy of the election. Regardless, new leaders will still be taking power and face the challenge of restoring abundance amid devastating disease and economic shortfall while securing peace in a time of global conflict.
Sustaining hope in this winter of anxiety and fear is more important now than at any time in recent history. Now is the time to remember that our destiny is in our own hands. That we are not powerless. We have the power to choose our own thoughts. We have the power to reach for gratitude in moments of despair and change our perspective.
We did not seek or provoke an assault on our way of life, but it arrived none the less. We did not anticipate or invite an encounter with evil. But, perhaps the true measure of a people’s devotion and strength is how they rise to these challenges when they arrive.
This year, International Holocaust Remembrance Day will take place on January 27th and it is my hope that we will remember the promises we have made to one another and strive to do better.