CNF
Please add onto the paper. We have to expand on the paper from early in the semester. I need 3 extra pages on this.
2020 has Fallen
A lot happened to me in 2020. At times it felt like I was living in some crazy poorly written end-of-the-world science fiction story. For me, it all started with the Australian wildfires. I believe that we should take better care of the environment, therefore, I followed the Australian wildfires closely. I have always wondered what event should take place for us to start taking serious actions to protect our environment. I closely monitored the reaction of people and major world governments to the wildfires and realized that people few people cared about the environmental status of the world. If the events that took place in Australia taught us something is that we are ruining the environment at a really fast rate.
Fast forward a few weeks later and the world was dealing with a deadly virus that originated from Wuhan, China. The events surrounding this virus have terrified the world. People were dying at an unprecedented rate. However, it made me question our humanity when reports came out that the Chinese government had attempted to clamp down on the news that the country was battling a pandemic. I could not understand why some people were willing to risk and jeopardize other peoples lives for the sake of their selfish interests.
Understandably the pandemic brought along with it fear and panic. The world economy greatly suffered and the way of living drastically changed. For me, the change of living was quite impactful. As a college student living in a lockdown was a drastic change to the kind of life I had previously enjoyed in college. Before, the pandemic I had always spent time with my friends. If we were not in school we were engaging in different fun activities like hiking, going on road trips, and partying. However, under lockdown, all of this changed. I could only talk to my friends via text messaging or video calls. The only fun we could have together as though playing online games and at some point, this got quite tiresome and boring too. I could not help but wonder if things will ever return to normal. However, I doubt we can ever revert to normal after all the social changes that have taken place while my community was under lockdown.
During the first wave of the coronavirus, I could not help but admire the nurses at the frontline working hard to keep the sick alive. There is no greater symbol of heroism than willingly risking ones life to save another. Despite the many people who died, these frontline workers worked tirelessly to save the lives of those who could be saved. The one thing that I was not impressed with was the conspiracy theories that were being spread. Some conspiracy theorists argued the coronavirus was a hoax, some developed theories of super-secret coronavirus medication, others claimed that the virus had been manufactured in a government lab, or China had created the virus intending to flood the global market with Chinese made medication.
What was of particular interest to me was the fact that some people believed in these theories. These theories garnered a lot of interest. However, I could not understand why people believed in these theories even though science disapproved of them. At some point, I started wishing I could access the brains of these conspiracy theorists. It would be fascinating to understand what compels them to believe in such stories.
At the height of the coronavirus, my belief in human beings was shaken. I saw the heartbreaking video of George Floyds death at the hands of a police officer. Watching this and the BLM protests that followed later made me wonder will I ever be lucky enough to live in a society that does not discriminate against people because of their differences. While I do not expect Ill be lucky enough to see this day, I hope my future generation will live in such a society. I, however, do not agree with the stance the American administration took on this issue. Simply condemning the events that lead to George Floyds death does not change anything. The government has to take proactive steps to end systemic racism all over the United States. Systemic racism is a product of the Jim Crow policies implemented by the American government. Therefore, I believe that if the government is serious about ending racism in the United States, it has to get rid of the systemic racism within its ranks.
I believe that we have to change for the better as human beings before it is too late. Theres too much hatred in the world at the moment. Everywhere you look people are engaging in non-progressive conflicts. People care more about themselves and less about what is happening in their surroundings. It is time we started seriously thinking about the future. The future is dependent on the action we take today. Otherwise, we risk bequeathing our future generations a world that is on the brink of destroying itself.
