Let’s face it. We all know that 2020 has been difficult at best. We’ve seen COVID-19 ravage our cities and towns – we’ve even seen it ravage the planet. We’ve seen neighboring countries fight a new mutation, put travel bans in place again, and head back into lockdown for a second, even a third time. COVID-19 has swept across the globe resulting in 64 million cases and just under 1.5 million deaths.
Here in New Hampshire, there are now 5,883 active cases of COVID-19, approximately 42,697 diagnosed cases total, 735 deaths attributed to COVID-19, and an unemployment rate at 17.1%, almost 3% higher than the national average.
So what have we learned?
We, as a nation, as a state, have learned that COVID-19 isn’t about the politics of 2020. It isn’t about government control; it’s not about losing your rights or your freedoms. It’s about health, safety, and respect. Respect for those we have lost, those who are fighting this disease, those who take care of the sick, and most of all, respect for one another.
We need to follow the examples of other countries such as Taiwan, New Zealand, Iceland, Singapore, and Vietnam, which have emerged almost unscathed with under 40 deaths per country and come together. Our governments need to put the politics of COVID-19 aside because when leaders come together for the better good, we can change the world. We can stop the spread, protect our economy, keep our citizens safe, create vaccines, and defeat COVID-19.
Nothing worth fighting for is easy, and 2020 was anything but. If together we fight for safety, justice, and equity for ourselves, our families, the people we care for and provide service to, and for our communities as a whole, we commit to a greater good for 2021.
(Rich Gulla is President of the SEA/SEIU 1984.)