A Desire for Better Days Ahead

The views expressed in this post are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of ACUPA or Purdue University.

Tomorrow, Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States. My hope is that the ceremony is the most notable event of the day. My fear is that we will see more violence.

I do not have statistics, but it seems to me that the past six to eight months have collectively been one of the most violent periods in recent U.S. history. Protests turning into riots in nearly every city in the country. So much anger, so much antipathy, so much intolerance, so much hypocrisy. Would we see this much violence if we weren’t in a pandemic? Would we see this much violence if we had different leadership? Was all of this bound to happen no matter what?

We are cut off from the social safety nets we take for granted, the in-person conversations, laughter, and physical contact that normally temper our negative thoughts. We are mired instead in online communications—emails, texts, tweets, posts—that are truncated and lacking in nuance. We are hit with headlines, videos, and photos that highlight the worst events in our communities and across our nation. Healthy discourse struggles to see the light of day.

It is too easy to say that there is nothing I can do about it. True, I do not have any way to speed up distribution of vaccines or stop angry mobs from storming the Capitol. I may not have the ability to influence members of Congress or even members of my local community. I do have, however, the ability to touch the lives of my close family and friends. I can talk to them over the phone or on a virtual platform instead of only texting. I can plan safe, individual encounters with them. I can choose to limit how much news I watch and read. I can immerse myself in activities that boost my mood. For me, that includes doing puzzles, reading fiction, playing games with my husband, and dreaming up vacations for when this is all over. These are the things that keep me going, that give me hope for better days ahead.

And maybe, just maybe, the few minutes I spend typing a post for ACUPA’s blog that has nothing to do with policy administration will allow me to connect with one or two readers. What are you doing to keep yourself going?