America May Not Survive Its Post-COVID Malaise

Love…like America…is like a dying ember, and only bittersweet memories remain…

Upon reflecting on the state of the world surrounding me of late, my success in my year-long battle against being infected by COVID-19, retaining a vibrant zest for life, daily, and/or not succumbing to manic depression, makes me a unique outlier in 2021. If you’re dreadfully afraid of reengaging with the world and those who surround you in it, be not afraid: you’re not alone in the belief that one year was likely six months too long for the world to reflect upon its social frailties. Moreover, in the world being unwilling to engage in the work required to heal said ills, we all re-enter a world aware of its pain, thinking of its loss, yet unable to grieve anything.

“Love is like a dyin’ ember.
Only memories remain
Through the ages, I’ll remember
Blue eyes cryin’ in the rain…”

In the face of this, I woke up this morning — as I have for the past 375 sunrises — to Willie Nelson mournfully alluding to my inexplicable existential malaise. However, upon more profound thought, the causes of my sadness unfurled their morbidity across my cerebellum.