A Cup of Kindness

In 2022, I originally posted much of what I'm about say on POST, a platform that closed up earlier in 2024, but a lot of the sentiments still, sadly, sticks.

At the time I'm rewriting this, we're entering the final hours of 2024, and by the time this article is queued up, the rest of the world is already pinky-toe-deep in 2025. A few thoughts of the year that was.

A lot of it can sod off. Seriously, screw this year. It was awful. Just... awful. Granted, it wasn't the worst year of my life (2022 is definitely in the top two, and 2024 is, more or less in the top 10).

2024 was a year when a lot of things that could have gone wrong went wrong. A lot of people got put in positions they didn't deserve and ruined a lot of great things. Greedy companies continue to our lives in every part of society. Myopic, bigoted executives continue to get in way over their heads, and we all continue to get lost in their incompetence. Politicians continue to not give a damn about anything but hating on us citizens, our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends, and our families and making sure we stay afraid of each other for kudos points.

And, as November has proven, this country decided to reinstate a fascist, racist, sexist, xenophobic, felonious, treasonous rapist who wants to enact a revenge tour on everybody he hates, line the pockets of all of his billionaire friends with the money you worked for, destroy the lives of so many people on purpose, create conditions that will raise prices on everything under the sun, and destroy as many institutions and industries as the co-president of the United States beholden to the richest businessman in the world 

But, you know, eggs will get cheaper (eggs won't get cheaper).

After the election, I can't even fake my love for this country anymore. I tend to be an optimistic person by nature, but now, that part of me has been sapped. How could I be positive about your country when it pretty much embraced a convicted, openly-racist traitor whose political career was built on demonizing and delegitimizing Black men while his opponent's party pretty much sabotaged her from the jump and purposely set her up to fail because the ones who run the party (who, I might add, aren't quitting) did everything they could to make her unelectable to the base while trying to appease a bloc of voters who would kick me in the teeth and spit in my face and smile while doing it? 

I felt defeated. I felt drained. I felt lost. 

And for a while, I felt like I couldn't do this anymore. And by "this," I don't mean living. I'm going to live the hell out of this life as long as I can. When I mean "this," I mean writing and commentating online as I've been doing for over 25 years. My heart wasn't in it.

I abandoned my Twitter account in October. I'm never posting or retweeting anything that hellsite ever again.  When the dictator's whisperer and the shadow president of the United States is still running that place, why would anybody want to stay there?

We all got hurt. We all felt lost. We all experienced loss.

The creative community had to support each other because corporations are taking us for granted and thinking we're expendable while technology is on a dizzying path to try to replace us, either by algorithms, gen-AI, or promptware. Regardless, we all must create. And keep creating.

If anything, 2024 continued to remind me to preserve everything I make and watch, invest in books, storage devices, and physical media, and support those who create the things I enjoy in any way I can. Nothing is forever, but if you can hold it, it's even more real and not just some digital file.

Aside from that, treasure your friends on this big blue rock of ours. Make sure you check up on them now and then and tell them that you love them and value their friendship. 

As I said, nothing is forever, and life is so damn fragile and fleeting. In 2025 and beyond, we're going to need each other now more than ever because we know this country is going to abandon all of us. I'm not sure people are going to deal with that. 

Correction, not all people. Black folks know what this country will do because it's been doing it for... ever. Everyone else will learn what Black folks have known since 1619 and are not going to deal with that well at all. 

It's going to be a rough year for a lot of people. Despite all of that, I try to remain optimistic. I am covered in metaphoric bruises, scrapes, mud, crap, and nonsense. I'm not as broken as I thought I was. I'm still standing. And if you're reading this, you are too. Or at least sitting down reading these words.  

Don't cave in to evil men with evil hearts and evil minds. Don't give them the satisfaction of giving into their whims or giving up everything you know is right, decent, and true. And through it all, I want you to remember one thing. If there's nothing more you take into the new year, remember this:

Kindness is not a flaw.

I'm seeing stories about President Jimmy Carter, a man who has done so much to help people, especially after he left the White House. He was giving, generous, humble, earnest, empathetic, and kind. He was someone who actually read the Bible and lived his life as a true Christian, not these fake ones you see all over politics these days. We should all be as kind as President Carter was and adhere to that empathetic nature in our own lives.

I wish you all happiness, much success, good times, patience, great adventures, and lots of love in 2025 and beyond.

And if the fates allow, we'll do this all again next year.

Be alert, be safe, take care, and keep creating.