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Reclaim Hope

What we can do to change 2020

By Matthew WoodallPublished 4 years ago 8 min read
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Reclaim Hope
Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash

"What the actual 2020?"

A group of my friends and I, all of whom are deeply involved in monitoring and tracking disasters and emergencies, have decided that this year should simply become a swear word.

We've all been deeply affected by the events of this year, and the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg in the same week where we set a new record for number of named tropical storms formed in a day, while battling immense wildfires on the U.S. west coast was the last straw for many of us.

So many people seem to have given up and given in to the inevitable failure of hope that it is hard to see a way out of this year. While there are memes and jokes about it, 2020 seems to be simultaneously the longest and shortest year in collective memory.

It is easy to give up and give in, especially in a year like 2020, but that isn't the answer - especially now.

We need to reclaim hope.

2020 has ground us down and left us begging for mercy, but that doesn't have to be this year's legacy. 2020 can be the year we moved from despair to hope - and it doesn't need to be hard.

“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you," - Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg

Look out for others first.

The biggest lie anyone has ever been taught is that nobody will look out for you except you. We have been told time and time again that nobody looks out for anybody except themselves. This is not only a lie, but also an incredibly harmful way of thinking.

When you look out for yourself first, you have exactly one person who is making you a priority: yourself. If you look out for yourself first, you don't benefit from a support network of caring people around you.

When your resiliency fails - and it inevitably will at some point in your life - there's nobody there to catch you.

Before you start shouting "self-care" at me, let me be clear: I don't want you to sacrifice your own well-being for that of other people. That's a fast way to long-term mental health issues. You absolutely need to set and maintain boundaries about what types of support you are capable of giving to other people.

When I say "Look out for others first." I'm actually talking about making big decisions, especially when it comes to the policies we advocate for and the points of view we advance. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the growing political divide between left- and right-wing politics.

I am an unabashed left-winger and a major cheerleader for strong social programs that look out for everyone, not just a chosen few. When I talk about looking out for others first, I'm talking about choosing policies that prioritize the well-being of people over the profits of others.

Tax the rich to pay for stronger social programs? For the last few years, I have earned more than double the Canadian poverty line income, and about 60% more than the average Canadian wage. While 2020 will be different for me because of career changes and the devastation of COVID, I am still in the position of having made more than most people in Canada for the last few years.

I have gladly paid every single penny of my taxes in those years, and will gladly pay every single penny of my taxes this year. I don't want to pay less in tax, no matter how much I might like to have a little bit of extra in my bank account.

Why is that?

Because my taxes go to support everyone in my country, and we all benefit from that.

When a major consulting job fell through because of COVID, I was able to claim the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit while I figured out how to make ends meet.

Anytime my family has been in the hospital, the only thing that we've had to pay for was TV and Telephone.

When a good friend was incapacitated and unable to work, they were still able to afford housing and food.

Policies like affordable housing, basic income, and universal medicare/ pharmacare/dentalcare/eyecare benefit every single person, not just a privileged few. A rising tide may lift all boats, but the tide will never rise if we divert the water into individual pipes instead of letting it reach the beach.

When we all look out for each other, nobody is ever alone when they really need help. Yeah, it might hurt for a bit, but in the end we are all stronger when we look out for each other.

Look for the Good.

It is far easier to find the bad news in 2020. All you have to do is to open a newspaper (yes, they still exist), check social media, or go to your favourite news site. I write a weekly blog dedicated to disasters around the world, so I live in the bad news all day, every day. This makes it much more important for me to find the good in every single day.

I've made a point of trying to include at least one good news story in every week's blog. In 2020 I don't always have the space, but I always try. Here's this week's good news story, about a teenager who is flying a 50,000 lb, $38 million dollar helicopter to fight the fires on the U.S. west coast alongside her dad.

Go on, head over there and read it. I'll wait...

...

Wasn't that a great story?

Not great as in "I cried because it was so sad/happy/sappy", great as in "This is a story that demonstrates there is hope left in the world."

I've gotta say, being type-certified on the CH-47 Chinook, one of the biggest helicopters in the world is a major accomplishment at 19. And then there's the fact that she's flying it in some of the most dangerous and unpredictable weather. I used to work with a CL-415 "Super Scooper" pilot who said that flying wildfires was more fun than flying fighter jets. I have to imagine that would be true of flying helicopters in the same circumstances.

There are good news stories happening all around us, the challenge is finding them and sharing them. Media companies are always looking for the stories that will bring in the highest number of views so that they can sell more advertising and make more money. It is the nature of business to try and make as much money as possible - I can't blame them for that. Bad news always brings in more views than good news. The only way you would have caught this story when it first aired was to watch through the entire broadcast of bad news.

It is up to all of us to seek out good news and to share it with each other - it's our responsibility to give each other hope.

Be the Change.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Ghandi

When we are weary, it becomes very easy for us to lose sight of the fact that big change comes through small actions. The reality of climate change has struck hard in 2020, and it seems like an insurmountable challenge when seen from the perspective of a single person.

In truth, there is very little that one person can do to impact global emissions. On a global scale, my contribution to climate change is infinitesimally small and any changes I make will be even smaller than my overall contribution.

But every single thing that I do to change my climate impact makes a difference, whether it appears to or not. We don't need a small group of people making major changes - we need a huge group of people making small changes.

One less car ride, one more tree, one more item reused or recycled - these all add up to major changes when done on a global scale. My family tore up about half our lawn this year so that we could plant a garden instead. When it comes time, we only mow the remaining grass every two or three weeks.

Together, these two small changes make a negligible impact on our overall emissions. A few less vegetables have to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to our table. We run a lawnmower less, producing fewer emissions and saving a little bit of gas. Our lawn helps to promote natural plants and grasses instead of a monoculture of foreign grass.

But, if done on a neighbourhood scale we could likely do with one less delivery by truck to our local grocery store every week. We would also have healthier soil with less run off and reduced risk of flooding.

If done on a city-wide scale, we could likely save at least one delivery by truck every day across the city. The healthier soil would help add to the biodiversity and sustainability across the city, while reducing the risk of flooding at the same time.

When considered on the scale of cities, regions, countries, or the entire world - small changes can, and do add up.

Every single postive change that you make increases the net amount of hope in the world.

2020 has beaten us up and left us bleeding on the side of the road. While we may not be able to see it, hope is out there.

Hope is always out there. It is waiting for us to reclaim it.

healing
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About the Creator

Matthew Woodall

I'm a writer, father, husband, and insatiably curious about the world around us and the people who inhabit it. The ideas included in my stories are mine and do not represent any of the organizations I am associated with.

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