20 Moments Of 2020: Part 2

17. America The Beautiful 

There is beauty in America. The diversity in our land, in our people, and our history is complex, nuanced, and inspiring. Nowhere was this clearer during the Democratic Roll Call during the Democratic National Convention.

In the previous conventions, I found watching this part of the program boring and tedious. This year, the convention organizers took the challenge of doing a roll call during a pandemic as an opportunity. We saw our cities' beauty, our land, and most powerfully, our people during this roll call.

People of all genders, sexual identify, generations, and positions represented their states with dignity and pride. There are too many moments in this role call that were meaningful to name here. In the words that were spoken and in the backgrounds through pictures and settings, we saw America's story. This is the story of people who have made America great by fighting the oppression that founders built into our government's structure and lie in the darker corners of our hearts. It was a wonderful experience to watch this, so much that we re-watched in with our seven-year-old.

There are very dark and disturbing corners of our country. Still, good people continue to work to make America a more inclusive, equitable, and beautiful country with hard work, love, and optimism.

 

16. Gaslighter

The anger, bitterness, and rage, and the hope that I felt in 2020, were mirrored nowhere more directly and beautifully than in The Chick's album Gaslighter.

There was a lot of great music during 2020, but no musicians spoke directly to the emotions that I felt during this past year. While the stories told in this album were mostly related to the divorce, they were not ones I could directly relate to; these stories paralleled what was happening in my life and what was happening in our country.

In our country, many leaders gaslighted the citizens, acted in unspeakably immoral ways, and left Americans battered, scarred, and left for dead. This was the year that the "courage of man" failed, and like The Chicks, I felt rage at many men in America for having the ability and privileged to ease the trauma of this difficult year and made it worse for their own personal gain.

There was more than rage in this music. The was also the revenge of living well, the feeling of being, and the power of acceptance.

In "Texas Man," Natalie sings about not being young but still having worth and value.

I'm a little bit unraveled.

Everybody wants the new model

But I'm a little bit more traveled

If you got the strength, I do.

Then sign me up.

If I'm not too much for you.

Then sign me up, sign me up.

I'm a little bit unraveled, but I'm ready.

This album is about how we can persevere and make it through the difficult times and the horrible things that people do to us. Maines sings at the end of "My Best Friend's Wedding," an affirmation of how we can make something out of all that has been burned down and rise.

I'm back here at my best friend's wedding,

Yeah, she married again.

I've never seen her look more happy,

Guess from ashes, we can really grow.

And my wildfire's comin'

Burnin' the path that I've known.

Watch me, yeah, watch me run with it,

Take it wherever it goes.

 

15. Dr. Fauci elevates Dr. Corbett

During the AIDs crisis 1980s, Dr. Fauci stood up against the prejudice and the discrimination that people had against people who have AIDs. As a scientist, he used facts and research to dispel illusions that were spread about AIDs and helped people see the humanity in those suffering from this syndrome.

In 2020, Dr. Fauci's work demonstrated his value of individuals, their self-worth, and a belief that we can do better for each other and ourselves. So it's no surprise that given the opportunity, he elevated Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, a Black woman who was a key scientist behind the COVID-19 vaccine. Even though this action reflected Dr. Fauci's character, it was still significant in a field where women and minorities are under-represented. Black women are dehumanized by many in our country, including the soon to be former President trump.

Embracing diversity and having the most qualified and imaginative people working on your team is a reality in many different places. If this model worked to develop the COVID-19 vaccines, it could work for every workplace in America.