A letter from April 4th, 2021

Dear FutureMe, The years 2020 and 2021 were some of the most remarkable years in the United States, in the world, in fact. A pandemic spread across the earth, ******* millions, more than a half-million family members in the United States, alone. Perhaps more from lack of preparation and leadership, rather than science. During the Obama administration, the previous president, the national security council drew up a 69-page playbook on fighting pandemics and how to ensure testing was conducted effectively, and the need to stockpile emergency resources. The incoming Trump administration was briefed on the playbook but it was thrown out. This was a foolish decision, made by the leader of the free world. COVID 19 the coronavirus was new and it stunned governments. I remember March 2020, the spread was so deadly, schools closed, to protect the children, businesses shut down, grocery stores, churches, synagogues, and mosques closed their doors. Entertainment centers and entities were on pause. It brought fear, unrest, uneasiness, and turmoil to all of the world, particularly in the United States where money has been the solution that seemingly always solves problems. The money would not be the answer, this time. It would cause ***** and financial ruin. Scientists warned that in order to survive, humans must social distance, remain six feet away from others. Masks needed to be worn in order to protect against this airborne virus. Proper hygiene had to be stressed. It was a time that most of the world was shut inside in their homes, with fixed vigilance, watching the daily latest news and information, hoping they would get good news. Scientists were given permission to fast-track a vaccine that would provide protection. While most vaccines take years to come to market, this virus could not wait that long. This virus revealed a lot about our country. First, that a lot of Americans were too ill for their immunities to resist the sickness and ***** from the virus. They had co-morbidity diseases, like high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer, for example. The disease exposed the reasons that taking care of your health, starting with what you eat makes a decided difference in health and well-being. At the same time, there was a tendency for some to resist the idea of the vaccines to protect them, a result of the country's past shameful and criminal history of using black and brown people as guinea pigs, testing unreliable medicines. Many died. Asians were blamed for this pandemic, a product of a president, at the time, Donald Trump, who not only blamed it all on the Chinese government but used accusatory and flammable names like, "Kung Flu" and "Chinese Virus" to place blame, as he took the bully pull pit to talk about the disease. He did not handle the pandemic well, not prepared, denying the danger of the disease, using it as what he hoped was a political tool to blame the Chinese, the Democrats, or left thinkers for making up the whole pandemic. He was wrong and on the wrong side of history. He was an utter failure. But the damage he created was set. Around the country, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders would feel the results of his rhetoric. They became victims of harsh violence, contempt, and ridicule. This was a group of Americans that were generally quiet, kept their heads down, barely participated in public discourse about racism, social justice, or demonstration. Some of the attacks on them by other Americans were difficult to watch. Then right in the middle of this suffering of being separated from friends, family, and co-workers, the world saw another revelation about America, the criminal justice system's treatment of black and brown people in routine misdemeanor charges. Some police were tools of that system. This was a continuation of complaints blacks have complained about for hundreds of years. The world watched as modern technology captured the ******* of a 46-year-old black man named George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Police had responded to a complaint that he had passed a fake 20 dollar bill to a local merchant in Minneapolis. It should have been a simple misdemeanor crime, that would have gotten him ticketed with a date in court, it turned out to be a more than a nine-minute display of police overreach, brutal excessive force, escalation, and his *****. After greeted by police with **** drawn, for the 20 dollars crime, Floyd was put into handcuffs, and after his resistance, placed face down on the street and kept in a dangerous position. A policeman, named Derek Chauvin, put his knee on his neck, a police tactic only used if necessary. It was not necessary. Floyd pleaded for mercy. In his pain and his fear of *****, millions watched all over the world of his cries and bystanders begging for Chauvin to get off his neck. With his hands in his pockets, Chauvin remained on his neck on his knee and had no mercy. Thousands of Americans faced the threat of the COVID 19 virus, put on masks, and marched in cities to protest the live *******. Citizens of other countries all over the world joined them. The event revealed the American social ill of inconsideration and negligence for black human life. It was a sign that the demographics were changing in America, and fear from the white population, a growing minority was scared they would lose power. This time, however, the diversity of America in protest of this careless treatment was in full view. As I write this, in April of 2021, Chauvin is on trial facing charges for the ***** of George Floyd. Everyone is watching, from the nation's media to foreign journalists who have gathered for the Minneapolis trial. America is, in essence, on trial for its claims of democracy and fair treatment of its citizens, the shining light of democracy on the planet. Five years from now, I want this COVID 19 pandemic to be under control. I want the United States to prepare for future pandemics, hospitals have the personal protective equipment (PPE) gear they need, students to have the broadband, wifi, laptops they will need to access the future in education. I hope more medical personnel will be brave enough to study and join the healthcare workforce. I hope that there is a stable, decent, and ethical leader of our country that will deal with its citizens honestly. I hope that the world comes to understand that this earth we inhabit connects us for survival and that we should all commit to the principles of social justice, the principle of human dignity, garner respect for human life, agree to the principle of preferential options for the poor and vulnerable on the planet and that we have solidarity to work for justice and peace.