Good riddance 2020, go back to the dark shadow.
I didn’t write much for this blog last year but 2021 is here and I thought I'd share a few scattered thoughts and hopes inspired by Eduardo Galeano’s right to dream that he wrote in the turn of the millennium (see the video below).
Fair warning: The ideas below will be spilling out as they go and are not fully thought through.
The Right to Dream in 2021
In 2021, Covid-19 will evolve into a virus that will heal our battered and exhausted hearts and minds. As a side effect it will wipe out racism, homophobia, transphobia, science and truth denialism among many other ills in our minds
Health workers, educators, supermarket check out workers, cleaners, firefighters... they will be hailed as the essential workers and heroes who kept the world safe and spinning when those elected failed, not just this year but for decades
Those who looked the other way, who chose to do nothing, who put profit, business and economy above humanity, empathy, solidarity and health will see their fortunes reversed setting them on a path of learning and humility
People will no longer believe and spread lies and fake news. This will be followed by the sudden disappearance of trolls who will evolve and turn into creatures of light and wonder: unicorns and winged horses, for instance
Journalists will only be able to write the truth, whether their editors like it or not because ink will choose not to print lies and lies will not be able to be beamed or travel through the net, simply becoming a silence, a blank space
Governments and economists no longer will talk about GDP, growth, dollars and gold. Instead, they will measure people’s well being, happiness, access to homes, availability of affordable public transport and all essential needs
Military budgets will dry up completely and young people will embrace each other across borders and trenches ignoring orders that only inflict pain, suffering and sorrow in a cycle that perpetuates hate and death
Governments and politicians will realise that people can see they’re naked, that people cannot live off promises and that corruption will no longer continue with total impunity
No one will be arrested, condemned and imprisoned for shedding light on crimes against humanity, exposing corruption, lies and deceit, warning and protecting the world, seeking a better life away from conflict and persecution, dreaming of a better world
No one will be spied upon and persecuted, ridiculed and criminalised for loving our earth, protecting the rich diversity of life at risk due to our greed and materialism
No animals will be endangered anymore, with a sudden and unprecedented resurgence of life and trees; flowers and plants long not seen will blossom again
Some gods will vanish never to be seen again: Death, Weapons, Money, Coal, Oil. Instead people will put their faith in solidarity, empathy, love and understanding; everything that gives joy, warms hearts and betters life
Borders will no longer exist, there will be no refugees and flags will be buried with the realisation that our human nature is not one of greed, envy and self interest but as the social animals that we are, one of community as we all hold the same hopes and dreams, desires and needs
The old wars and conflicts will die and new wars will emerge: against climate change, poverty, water and food scarcity; against, hatred, injustice, inequality and racism; to cite a few
Wealthy elites, religious organisations and corporations will all pay their fair share of taxes with the abolition of tax havens, tax rebates and special treatment. From this revenue poverty will be erased, inequality abolished
The church will change the ten commandments, putting Earth and the universe as our prime concerns, from where all life emanates, proclaiming the existence of gods and spirits in all nature, in every tree, plant, rock, ravine, earth, wind and sky, which we must respect, nurture and celebrate; mandating sharing of gifts, food, and wealth, solidarity and free love
Police will lose all power, no one will die in police arrests and police custody, and as they head back to their homes in plain clothes, their weapons will turn to seeds from which olive trees will grow
Education and learning, health and well being, water, food, shelter, electricity, and all our basic needs will finally be free for all and not just for the privileged and those who can pay
A coalition of Indigenous People will take the reins of the nation and leading with example and generosity initiate a treaty process with the white settlers who so cruelly have treated them for so long
All in all, for this is becoming too unwieldy and too long, our laws will not be punitive, will not tell us what not to do, but what we can do and achieve; they won’t say follow this path blindly and within this narrow confines, instead they will encourage us to always aim for multiple horizons, through a myriad of traversing paths
And we will blossom into our positive, nurturing, social, human nature, in peace with our Mother, the giver of life, ceasing to kill and destroy, choosing to clean, reforest and rebuild; blossoming and flourishing as we turn the tide
