Jumanji: The Next Level

                 July 1st: Level 7: Congratulations! You have made it to the next level of Jumanji.

That's how it's starting to feel when we make it through another month of this dreadful year we are all having.  Above are the expressions we all make when we lift our phones and sign onto social media to see what new challenges the day is bringing as if all the other ones up until this point weren't enough. So far, we've had a global pandemic called COVID-19 which has brought us daily reports of newly infected cases and death tolls. It has altered everything! The way we socialize, shop, educate our children and live. The mask has become the new bra...They are uncomfortable but you have to wear them in public or everyone notices you are not. However, people still refuse to even though it has been recommended and in some locations mandatory. We don't argue about the benefits of bike helmets, life jackets, or sunscreen, but we argue about masks?? Doesn't make sense people! Just wear a damn mask!
Then, we have had murder hornets. Yes, hornets that commit murder...well, kind of. They are large Asian hornets which generally don't attack people but bees, and, yet, we have managed to give them a scary name and exaggerated their size. Why? Because we can and it is just another way to perpetuate fear in a time when everyone is already fragile. Also, did you know flushing drugs down the toilet can create hyper-aggressive alligators? Oh yes! Meth gators. It's a thing too. Oh 2020, what are we going to do with you? It's too much for one year. You should have spaced it out, but, let's keep going...
There were videos released by the U.S. Department of Defense showing unidentified flying objects maneuvering around Navy pilots. UFOs! E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Independence Day! Hollywood loves this shit and so do we, but, believe it or not, no one really seemed to even care. Are we so drained by the pandemic that something as potentially amazing as the possibility of real extraterrestrials, not the movie kind we are used to, visiting us and the government actually acknowledging it, doesn't even faze us? Well, that seems to be the case as it's 15 minutes of fame was short-lived and already tucked away. Come on, people, they were airborne heat-emitting objects without wings performing aerodynamics that no known aircraft can achieve and we are not intrigued or even impressed? Well, I'm personally disappointed in you all. It could have been an amazing discovery or at least a really good and much-needed distraction at this time.
Okay, point made and I'll move on. Another passerby that made the news...The giant Godzilla dust known as the Saharan Dust Cloud made its way to us this summer. Like the murder hornets, hugely exaggerated by the media, but it did happen. I didn't see anything different personally, but another good headline to add to the list.
In other news, Kim Jong-un was reported dead then not dead, Prince Harry walked away from the British monarchy and became a commoner like the rest of us, Bernie felt the bern and dropped out of the presidential race leaving us with "Sleepy Joe" Biden as the contender against "The Donald."
And last but certainly not least. A video showing a police officer using excessive force against a black man named George Floyd and how his death has unleashed a wave of Black Lives Matter protesting and riots across our already divided country.
Let's be honest, we live in a world where more people are interested in Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston speaking to each other at an awards ceremony than the out of control fires in Australia back in January (which I don't even know what happened to since we rolled into this haze of coronavirus monopolizing our news) People would seriously rather talk about the Tiger King and if Carol totally killed her husband than a dead whale being found in the middle of the Amazon rain forest so I don't have much faith in our society to mend and heal from the real issues we should be dealing with.
As much as I would love to throw a turkey in the oven, string a few lights, and open a few presents and call it a year, it's not that easy and I'm not sure it should be either. Maybe we need to see 2020 as an opportunity for our society to rethink, change, and grow. We have all had to process and adapt to the same issues but how we do it, whether on our own or together, could write the next chapter to this ongoing story we are living in and leaving behind to the future. For example, we can remove flags and statues all day but unfortunately, that will not remove the ignorance or hate inside of someone. We need to change minds not history right now. Do we want to be remembered as the most heated groups of blacks vs whites, democrats vs republicans, mask wearers vs non-mask wearers, do you catch my drift? I would like to see it end with a period that reflected perseverance, compassion, and development other than an exclamation full of negligence, indifference, and instability. I guess what I'm trying to say is less talk, more listening. Either way, we are on the next level together but will we make it to the next one if we don't stop fighting and pulling ourselves together (while wearing your mask and staying 6 feet apart of course!)  and forming some real communication and progress other than adding to the daily bombardment of challenges? You may think the choice is yours, but, the answer you come up with becomes everyone's answer so choose wisely, and keep in mind, we still have 5 more levels to go.