Friends,
Two images, one country:
Masked and gowned nurses in hospital, saving lives by risking their own
Uniformed police officers casually killing an unarmed black man in their custody
Images of community and caring, and of racist cruelty and barbarism.
Two weeks ago I shared a speech – “Ten Tough Weeks” – trying to put into some context the upheavals and challenges of the pandemic. Remarking on the sobering fact that only ten weeks had passed since the pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization. Feels like a hundred.
And now beyond a pandemic, we have protests and turmoil ignited across the country because, again, innocent black lives are stolen, by government action or vigilantism. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. Added to the terrible list of years, centuries.
It’s so stark, this dissonance between caring and callousness, between altruism and animus, in our own communities.
The pandemic has changed our world and we can’t go back. We shouldn’t go back. Racism, its legacies and its immediacy, persist in our world, like a terrible, centuries-long, self-inflicted virus.
We need to RECOVER FORWARD.
The pandemic will be with us for a while, exposing vulnerabilities we must address. Too many of us live on the edge, at the margins, where one bad month, one financial hit, can cause disaster. Too many essential workers are underpaid and undervalued. Our public health system is underfunded and disparities in outcomes are stark. As Councilmember Jim Sims said recently, quoting his African-American grandmother: “when America gets a cold, people like us get pneumonia.”
Racial bigotry still abounds, and must be addressed. Actively and intensively. Millions across America are demanding it daily, nightly.
Every community in America – the world – faces big challenges. The smart communities will recover forward in ways to address the important, persistent, underlying issues.
Bloomington needs to be bold and smart. Our recovery should:
Accelerate growth of good paying jobs with dignity
Directly address social inequities, of race, gender, economics, and more
Directly address climate change and how we’ll need to adapt locally
Improve the quality of life for everyone in the next generations
This won’t be easy. It will demand hard choices, and countercyclical actions, and inclusive efforts. When things are a mess and households in stress, government needs to focus and make things better. We need to recover forward and make the smart choices to accelerate our momentum toward the beloved community we imagine.
Please share your ideas, be involved, listen, be an ally, care for each other, and stay tuned.
Democratically yours,
John
PS: With our primary election just concluded, gear up for the general election!! The next five months will set a course for our country. You know the stakes. Get ready and get active!!