In the winter of 2020, a foreign virus squeezed our lungs and our hearts. It changed our lives. The nation fought it, doubted it, ignored it and defied it. People suffered and died. And so it went.

In the spring of 2020, authorities defiantly knelt on the neck of George Floyd until he died, an act caught on video for the nation to see. It challenged our sense of morality. The nation protested, rioted and justified it. And people suffered and died. So it continued.

In the fall of 2020 into the winter of 2021, the nation participated in, then attempted to partially evicerate, the chief mechanism of its working representative democracy, the vote. It shook the core of our civic confidence. People rallied for, celebrated, rebelled against, protested and rioted over the results. Once more, the innocent and the culpable alike suffered and died. And so it still goes.

It remains to be seen if our nation can muster the massive effort necessary to overcome our losses. Healing will require faith and trust in a higher power and each other, respect for legitimate science and a sincere, continuing struggle to achieve justice, mercy and understanding. Tolerance, civility, compromise and selflessness may facilitate a rebirth. Or will we just continue on the current path of decline and decimation for democracy as we know it?

Toni Aromatorio

Derry Township

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