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Imagine you’re talking to a couple of high school students in 2050. They ask, “How did the pandemic change the world as you knew it?” How do you think you would answer?

In 2020, during a pandemic, we learned: 1. Social inequality is rampant even though ignored for decades by many whites 2. White supremacy came out for under the rocks and began mobilizing and threatening violence 3. The people who make our economy work are front line employees like bus drivers, grocery clerks, nurses, delivery people, ..who are paid the most poorly despite their critical role in keeping the county going 4. Presidential power is unchecked , and we had a president who lied and cheated and used the office for his personal gain When he lost the election in 2020, he refused to concede precipitating a constitutional crisis 5. People began growing their own food, as food insecurity was a constant threat. Food banks doubled their efforts to help poor and unemployed people meet their nutrientional:needs. 6. Schools opened and closed and opened and closed depending on the COVID count. 7. The highest concentration of cases and deaths were in nursing homes and prisons , where people were in close contact. 8. Medical personal were faced with sick people filling up ERs and beds . After months of taking care of hundreds and thousands of patients, they began to burn out and get sick themselves. 9 The country was divided between those who thought that pandemic was a hoax and refused to wear masks and those who wore masks and tried to obey government recommendations in regard to hand washing, social distancing, gathering outdoors in small groups and not indoors, etc. 10. The USA had the worst record when it came to containing the virus and the worse record in number of COVID deaths