We’re almost to the fourth quarter of the craziness that is 2020.
Yes, this year has been described with many words such as “unprecedented,” “scary,” “unfair,” and “a mess.”
We’ve also added new words to our vocabulary like “quarantine,” “coronavirus,” “COVID,” and “virtual.”
But what gets me hot under the collar is that as much as the phrase “We’re all in this together” was tossed out there, it seems the opposite has actually happened.
Didn’t we get taught in, oh I don’t know, first grade that if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything?
Yeah, I thought so.
We’ve all seen the news stories and social media comments where people absolutely lose it over someone else’s opinion or stance on a certain topic in the news.
I’ve said this before in this space, but people, there is absolutely nothing wrong – nothing at all – with having another person disagree with you.
It’s at this point – and this generally happens on social media where everyone is now an “expert” on any given topic – that name calling becomes rampant and even those that try to calm the tension get called names.\
It’s downright silly, and one would think these are children. Alas, these people are adults. People the youth of today are supposed to call role models.
And, look, I get it. This year has been totally one to forget. We were in a stay-home lockdown for many weeks. Many lost jobs, saw businesses cave in, and had family members and even pets pass away and weren’t able to give them a proper sendoff.
I get it, but can we just keep moving forward and would it really hurt you to stay positive or at least attempt to understand what that word even means?
After a few weeks on the job as editor, I received an email from a longtime Clarkston resident saying the stories we had been covering were too positive.
Yes, I, too, laughed for a bit at that jab.
Anyway, the point I’m making is that if we truly are “all in this together,” then why is society as divided as ever? Why is it so hard to compliment someone? Why do people take the easy way out rather than working for the bigger prize?
Just smile. Be kind. Enjoy life. Go get a puppy.

— Matt Mackinder