We are about to say goodbye to 2020, full of unexpected events, most of which at the beginning we could have never imagined.We will also welcome a new one, 2021, which comes with many uncertainties. Traditionally, different peoples and cultures tend to associate this transition from one year to the next with expectations of improvement. But, this time, the reality we have lived seems obstinate in telling us: “don’t get your hopes up”.
It is true that these are difficult times. But it is also a time to take advantage and renew our resolutions, change our olds habits and leave our worries behind.
The year 2020 did not take long to bring us the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused so much confusion, illness, isolation, social distance, and death. Then, it brought the “Black Lives Matter” Movement. We saw protests in the wake of institutional racism and street riots like no others since 1992, with the “Rodney King case” in Los Angeles, or like those of the 1960s, against racial segregation. These were the times of the hopeful followers of Martin Luther King and the supremacists of the Ku Klux Klan, to whom the former fortunately defeated.
But not everything has been bad this year. Several breaths of fresh air are coming into our lives.
We are finally getting a vaccine against the coronavirus. It is time to turn the tide against this global pandemic.
We have lived through a presidential election that will bring new paths to the White House, starting January 20th. This will end the last four years of madness and the constant threats to biodiversity, sustainability, climate change and the environment. This, in Alaska, which has the largest nature reserve on the planet, is especially important.
Last summer Sol de Medianoche was awarded a grant by the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism making it possible to publish on a monthly basis. This allows us to continue informing our audience about the social issues that affect us most, especially during these difficult times where true and timely information is much needed.
Finally, we’re at a time when we realize, as in no other time of the year, how much we need our families and loved ones, those we carry in our hearts. Against this, there is no social distance.
We are resilient despite these uncertain times. Let the change of year not serve as an excuse to impose on us the “new normal” of curtailed freedoms. A “new normality” that, in itself, is a contradiction, because if it’s “new” it cannot be “normal”, and if it’s “normal” it cannot be “new”. Yes: “New Year, and a New Life”. A healthier, more sustainable, and stronger life!
