Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and whatever you may celebrate this time of year. This is truly a season to try to be content and happy but I know that can be difficult. As a Christian myself, the reason for the season is Jesus and the celebration of his birth. I am not here to debate whose celebrations are more appropriate and to tell you to celebrate Christmas, but to say that this is not a time many are feeling like the holiday spirit.
2020 Will Never be Forgotten
The stores are not as full as last year with reason COVID, restaurant dining is not open for reason COVID and even go outside and being around our family is not encourage due to COVID. Imagine this time last year I was unemployed from my lost of Job in November but actually hired December 18th to start my new role in January so Christmas was truly special. This was a time that I truly prayed for a miracle, having of course had an apartment to pay for , a family to support thankfully my wife was working part time at the time so that helped, but I will say the last two Christmases before that were filled with uncertainly, so uncertainty isn’t new to me, although I would NOT wish that on anyone especially now when there are millions in desperate states unsure when they get their next pay check, if the will have a home on the verge of ruin. If this is you I am truly sorry and truly say I will pray for you and to have a great new year.
The Seriousness of The Times
But there is something that is also profoundly serious that is going on especially in the United States and its difficult to say this because there is no other way to say this, I believe we have a cancer in this country. I am truly disgusted over what I have seen in the last few years and our country basically dying from within. I can honestly say prior to 2016 I was not very woke to politics and those who run our country, having NEVER voted until this year.
I will say that the politics in our country is in a horrible state, but not only that the citizens of our great country are truly destroying each other. Recently thinking does one not see the hate that is infecting our country, do we not see that we are being truly lied to on both all sides. I will NOT say well only Republicans lie and Democrats don’t that would be lie too, there are is mistruth on both sides. But I will say that one side is truly trying to help the people, although many will say no they are actually the ones try to destroy society, Socialist, Antifa, BLM as you can see there’s a theme of words and slogans that we have turned to villainize people even going as far at threatening death on people.
Lies and Conspiracy’s are Here to Stay
The recent elections have been a true disaster in the sense that there has just been misinformation from one side, and I will just say the Right wing. I am disgusted that people believe the lies and conspiracies, how did we as a society get so stupid and I think was society always this stupid hidden in plain sight. Being the United States, we are supposedly to be one of the most advanced nations in the world, creating technology that has changed the world, but some may say it has also destroyed society like Social Media. Now one may think well I love that I can reach across the globe and keep in contact with family and friends and that part I find fine, but the part I don’t agree with is how it has dominated the lives of people focused on it like crack.
I completely got rid of my Facebook and Twitter for that reason it dominated my life, my time, my emotions turning me into someone who felt the hate growing within me, turning me into something I am hating see, a miserable human being. For many out there who uses it many will say well that’s you not me it doesn’t have that effect over me, I don’t let it do that me. But have you looked in the mirror lately, how has it changed you, if you think it hasn’t then you may be lying to yourself?
The Belief of Lies and Misinformation as Truth
We are truly in a scary time when one will believe what is online and believe a perfect stranger then truth, seeking real truth. I will say its different for me being a generation Xer when social media didn’t truly come into my life until 2010 but even then, I truly didn’t use it, I felt that I could live with out and I can, because society frankly has survived without it for decades. The art of communication has not gotten better but worse, the one-on-one time making those real connections.
Due to social media, I believe there has been an increase in hate online, trolls and the spread of serious misinformation and conspiracies that have infiltrated congress and our government but much worse in society when even truth is no longer important. I ask do people even know what the truth is anymore, but have they created their own truth and pass it off as truth.
1984 Is Upon Us or Is it Already Here?
We are getting to the point that we will question what is provided to us in books, questioning if its truth like our history, crazy to say we are getting to the point where books are being outlawed in schools for their content and we already have a big brother in a sense, does this all sound familiar almost as if we are slowly turning in to a communist country yet we have freedom, but we are not.
I am reminded of George Orwell’s 1984 where government attempts to control everything knowing they have control over the livelihoods of everything such as what we watch on TV and movies. These are scary times but I truly believe that there are those in our world who truly want to take away our rights and freedoms and only give them to a select few like in 1984.
Sad to say there are those in this country who believe Not everyone should have equal rights, that we should bring back slavery, which we have legal slavery to corporations who many depend on to survive.
If you look at the state of our country, we have a great divide of rich versus poor, Brown/Black versus White, the haves and have nots. Some may say well we have always had those things dating back centuries but in reality, its has gotten worse as people are more emboldened to inflict pain on others, whether its physical, mental and or psychological.
We are getting to the point when humans are just treated as discarded trash, which by the way we are already there. How many times do we have to hear of some poor homeless person getting run over and left for dead like trash. These are just some of the horrors our society has to deal with and it will only get worse.
My Faith Tested in These Faithless Times
As a Christian I will say the biggest disappointment are those in the faith, whose who proclaim I Love Jesus yet spread right wing propaganda, conspiracy theories to their congregation, where they in turn spread that false information. I am NOT talking about the word of GOD, I am talking about how the election was fraudulent, how the Democrats Stole the election and repeating every falsehood President Trump spreads online and on TV preaching it as truth its sickening, that is a huge reason we are where we are today because of those evangelicals.
As someone to attends Church regularly I see and hear my own pastor dip his toe in to repeating those lies. I am not saying when it comes to the elections there is NO fraud, there is fraud but not to degree of millions of votes, where some truly believe such falsehoods like votes are being shipped from North Korea and China in addition to voting machines switching votes, complete BS. I can go on and on and many of you who may ready this may believe those lies and I implore you to do your research before spreading more misinformation.
Will Society Ever Move Forward or Go Back in Time
I am not right wing or left wing but would consider myself a progressive of having society moving forward with new and fresh ideas to help society especially when it comes to healthcare and education. We all need to take a step back and look at what we all believe and see if there is any truth to what we are believing in. We all have different beliefs and values, but I hate to say there are truly bad value and belief systems today and we need to correct those views. I am not saying I am perfect in my own belief system, as I am constantly working to grow, change and evolve for the better. As an educator myself I come across so many students who I have to be an example of good teaching but a good moral compass in hopes students can learn good habits.
If you got to the end of this piece you may be wondering ok so what is the point of what you said and my point is that we need to treat each other better, be more kind, appreciate and be grateful for our lives and STOP believing in Lies. What is so amazing to me is we live in a nation of intellect, yet people don’t seem to be using that side of their brain these days.
Self-Reflection is the Key to Being Better
Wishing everyone this time of year to self-reflect on your life, be better people and consider turning off the news, unplugging from social media and see how much better you feel I know I do. What is important is to remember that there are people suffering in our country and world far worse than we are, not to say your or my problems are not important they are but let’s put things in perspective.
Lastly this season trying to get some faith in your life, attend a church or synagogue and pray for those things you want in your life to be better and watch what GOD will do in your life.
I think its important that you understand I understand we all have different beliefs, values and what we consider to be truth, but know the truth exist and is convoluted in today’s day and age, but there are those who are seeking the truth. I’d like to think of myself as an intelligent person, not stupid enough to follow conspiracies and things that make no plausible sense. I continue to hear some of the craziest beliefs such as COVID is one world conspiracy to turn the world into a one world order into a total communist world, how Microsoft is using the COVID vaccine to implant chips in those who take it, That the COVID was man made, which no one really knows where COVID came from some say it originated from bats due to China’s wet market, but it did originate from China. I have even heard that COVID was created to put Trump out of office knowing that he would fail, they certainty got that right if that was the case. I hear that COVID is a hoax, that those over 200K deaths are not real deaths that only about 12k have really died from COVID, the list goes on and many you are only of those people who believe these things.
The Nightmare is NOT over, But GOD is with US!
Hopefully in time we will wake up from this nightmare, people will focus on what is important and stop following men and women as saviors but look to go GOD and JESUS for guidance. Look I believe one day the world will come to an end JESUS will come back and he will take back the earth, raising the dead. There will be antichrist and there is a DEVIL he exists. Some of you who are not Christian, may think I am crazy, but I am far from it. I also believe in Bigfoot and UFO’s because in my heart those are perfectly plausible and there is evidence of their existence.
The reason I say all of this is because I believe in a higher power, I know he exists because he has been there, even though I can’t physically see JESUS I know him by his spirit, his love and his protection over my life because all of the shit I have had happened to me I am still here and I will never renounce my faith. Saying that I am far from perfect I sin, I get angry, I sometimes even hate my brothers and sisters of this world but I am working on changing that each day. I am in the word of GOD daily, reading his words, putting them in my heart so when the day comes I leave this earth I know where I am going, HEAVEN.
I know I have taken a weird road in this message in hopes you understand where I am coming from, I come to you with an open heart, a frustrated, Angry heart at times due to the world we live filled with Hate in hopes one day we can all just get along, but I think this would be too difficult since man is too greedy to love each other , because we live in a greedy world , but I hope I am can be proven wrong and I am sure I will be seeing the goodness in people during these times.
Love and peace to all of you out there! be Safe, wear a mask , be more kind, love more.
Joseph’s Adventures in Writing 