We Must Stand Together

Most of us would probably agree, 2020 has been a challenging year, full of struggle, sadness, heartache, anger, and fear. Quite often, I hear people say, “omg, what’s next?”

Countless individuals holding positions of trust, power, and authority have done an incredible amount of damage. Still, I do not want to give up on them. I have hope. I hope they will see the dark path they have placed the world on for self-gain. Deep down, everyone knows the difference between right and wrong. Except for cases of mental illness, of course. Hmmmm . . . maybe that’s the problem.

People are scared and for a good reason. Our world is in a state of, up is down, and down is up. The world’s priorities have been twisted and reshaped into something I can best describe as, what the f**k are people thinking?”

I’m writing this piece to say, “you are not alone.” No matter how rough it gets, things are not hopeless. People need to stick together and not allow world events to divide them. Divide and conquer is running out of control. Anytime a number is divided over and over again, that number eventually reaches a level of manageability and control.

It seems the world wants us to hate each other. Not the Universe, but the world. Our Universe will always balance itself, but the world we live in can be selfish and ugly.

Following the first wave of the pandemic, people were standing together, helping each other, and cheering our first responders. Within a few weeks, the United States imploded into chaos and hatred.

If we give in to anger, we lose our power and hand it over to someone else. It’s easily compared to be a puppet whose strings are pulled and twisted by another. It’s worse than that. We can become controlled by those who triggered the events in the first place—usually a person or group of individuals who hide in the shadows, snickering at their accomplishment.

I will not give up on this world or the people in it. Remember, you are not alone. Strength is in numbers, but we must not allow ourselves to be divided by skin color, race, religion, or anything else. By doing so, we are following an agenda placed before us by those who would enslave our bodies, hearts, and minds.

Joseph Shanklin

July 20, 2020