60+ things about 2020 that make absolutely no sense
Stephen H. Provost
“Dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria.” – Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) in Ghostbusters
If that’s mass hysteria, we’re in the midst of something far worse. My cats and dogs live together and get along just fine. Most of the time, anyway. No one else in this country seems to get along anymore, though.
I’m 57 years old. When I wasn’t so very much younger, I thought I could make sense of the world, but in the past few years, I’ve gradually lost confidence in my ability to understand things. I’m not sure whether I’ve changed, or whether the world has changed around me — probably a bit of both.
But so many things about the world today seem nonsensical — antithetical to what I thought I’d figured out about the human nature. It turns out I don’t know as much as I think I did, which is too bad, because the stuff I thought I knew was a lot more encouraging than what I’m finding out.
Here are 60-plus things I don’t understand:
How a species that used its brains to conquer a planet could be so incredibly stupid.
How a country that has spent decades condemning white supremacy could embrace it like a long-lost lover.
Why some people would rather get sick and die than wear a mask.
Why some of these same people would rather let their loved ones get sick and die than wear a mask.
How a snake oil salesman from the 19th century could win the presidency in the 21st century.
Why we would rather undermine our “enemies”— even if we sabotage ourselves — than work together so everyone succeeds.
Why things as superficial as skin color and genitalia blind us from the substance inside.
Why we obsess about our differences rather than focusing on the positive qualities we share.
Why we refuse to admit our mistakes, even though it means we’ll make the same mistake next time. And the time after that.
Why some worship a divine creator but refuse to nurture the creation.
How learning about the universe through science could possibly offend its creator.
How some who believe in “personal responsibility” would rather indoctrinate people than teach them to think for themselves.
How a party that distrusts government can support a wannabe dictator.
Why we’d alienate our allies.
Or trust the Russians.
Or conspiracy theorists.
Why anyone would want to preserve monuments to a bloody war fought (and lost) 150 years ago to defend slavery.
Why those defenders care more about those monuments than they care about warding off a deadly virus.
Why we so often care more about labels than about the ideas behind them.
Why some people don’t vote.
Why defenders of the Electoral College worry about rural states being ignored but don’t care about non-swing states (like 80% of them) losing their voice.
Why we need to spend more on defense than the next 10 countries combined, but refuse to spend money to guarantee health care for our citizens.
Why anyone would throw the first punch.
Or fire the first shot.
Or hit a partner.
Or a child.
Or abuse an animal.
How anyone could keep kneeling on a man’s neck when he was crying for his mother.
How building a wall fixes our immigration problems.
And why it’s not a colossal waste of money.
That could be spent on health care. In the middle of a pandemic.
Why it’s rocket science to pay people the same amount for the same work.
Why some people trust old white men more than anyone else.
Why so many old white men act like know-it-all jerks.
Why old white men who aren’t know-it-all jerks get blamed for the actions of those who are.
Why people would rather cast blame than find solutions
When scapegoating replaced baseball as our national pastime.
How a country that fought a war to free itself of a power-hungry “mad king” could embrace a power-hungry, mentally ill president.
How anyone who claims to support democracy can strive to keep people from voting.
Why politicians get to draw their own district boundaries.
Why people act against their own best interests, just because political leaders and TV talking heads tell them to.
Why people keep believing in superstitions that have never worked for them in the past.
How a leader who calls his adversaries juvenile names can credibly demand respect.
Why the rich can tie up the court system so effectively that they’re never held accountable for their actions.
How anyone can think that racism equals nostalgia.
Or sexism equals piety.
When identity became more important than principle.
Why we exchanged freedom of thought for shaming and litmus tests.
Why billionaires need all that money.
How humans can act like lemmings.
Why rational arguments have no effect.
And open discussions are obsolete.
Why “social” media are antisocial.
Who anointed some dude named Mark Zuckerberg emperor of the virtual universe.
Why no one seems to think the minimum wage should be indexed to the rate of inflation.
Why drug companies that charge obscene amounts can spend money on television ads.
Why insurance companies get to decide who lives and who dies.
Why the opinions of clueless celebrities matter more than the conclusions of scientists, doctors, and educators.
How faith could ever be used as an excuse to hate people.
Why nobody’s talking about homelessness.
When so many of us started living in a mass delusion.
Why we want to believe the world is fair and do our level best to make sure it’s not.
Why dogs and cats can live together, but we can’t.