by Christopher Ryan

Last night was a pretty honest mess. Miley’s party was self-conscious and apologetic. Ryan Seacrest’s joy seemed forced, almost desperate. And seeing Anderson Cooper drunk on air again just underscored how few fucks we have left to give as a society.

Millions of masked masses crowded together in defiance of all social distancing suggestions. Then the revelry kicked in and naked faces crawled out from under the tenuous safety of thin material. By the countdown, New Year’s Eve 2021 was a sea of masked chins even as hospitals filled and Covid case numbers soared. Says a lot about our national mindset as 2022 dawned.

Yes, we all want this to be over, want this endless uncertainty and illness to be gone. After such a long, depressing purgatory, it is understandable that so many just wanted to ignore the risks and get their dance on.

So, happy new year. My wish for the revelers is that Covid took the night off. We all need a break.

As for 2022, I hope we embrace the truth that hate won’t save us, knee jerk reactions won’t improve our collective fate, and pointing fingers always guarantees failure. We need to listen to each other and negotiate our way to taking responsibility for our mutual well-being.

We tried hate and mocking and violence. Mutual assured destruction thrived there, not much else. This year, let’s try mutual assured survival. Which thoughts must we rethink to be able to have constructive discussions again?

All we really need to do is decide there is a better life available and then be brave enough to step toward it.

I hope to see you there.