Christmas 2020 is history, and now New Year’s Eve is here. It’s almost time to clean up the gift wrapping, disassemble the Christmas tree, and pack those decorations in boxes for next Christmas. The new year cometh! Swifteth!  

This past year has changed us. The trials have changed our thinking; perhaps an awareness of what our country has been and ought to be. If we have not buried our heads under the covers, we should now know more about the Constitution, and our God given rights and responsibilities to uphold that Constitution.

Let’s look at some of our conceptions of our nation, and consider how these ideas have been watered down this past year. 

Previous conceptions of our country and how those ideas have held up.

1. America is not violent, nor experiences violence like other countries in the 3rd world. (We learned that we were naïve. American cities have experienced violence, destruction, and even killing due to mob actions.)

2. We have protection, and we can always call the police. (Well, who would have thought that the police would be defunded, and diminished in many cities? Unbelievable.)

3. The Muslim population wears masks. We don’t. (But now we have an excuse to wear them and in fact, we are mandated to wear them!)

4. If Constitutional liberties were removed from our society, people would have a fit and not stand for any violation of those rights in the public arena. (Now, politically-correct-speak is promoted. You can’t say this, you can’t say that. Don’t go to the beach, etc. You cannot go here, you cannot go there.)

5. If churches were told they must follow certain rules now; not sing, not preach on certain subjects in the Bible, not open their doors, not meet in large groups ... if this were ever to happen, then the Church would rise up and scream bloody murder! (Right? Oops.)

6. The government knows best. The government will take care of things. (If there is one truth we have learned, it’s that whether state, national, or international, the government is made up of people and people can become addicted to power, and can be bought and sold. We are all commissioned to watch.)

7. Someone else will do it. (Oh, is that so? I think the finger is pointing at us. We better make room in life to serve in some capacity.)

8. This country is too large, and too strong, and too prosperous to ever fail. (We have seen the repercussions of the collapse of a healthy economy, and the unraveling is still in the process.)

But now, consider...

We have grown up this past year. We are stronger than we were a year ago. We have learned that nothing is to be taken for granted; that freedom is precious. We have not paid attention. But now, we are paying attention. 

A new year is here. And will it be a victorious year? Yes, we hope so. We won’t sit on our laurels (or bottoms) any longer. We are ready to put our hands to the plow. It’s time to take care of each other. 

We are going to dig in. We are not going to be lazy. We will individually and corporately set goals and do them. We will not give up any more ground. So now, let’s go!

Happy New Year, 2021!            

Judi Tabler lives in Pawnee County and is a guest columnist for the Great Bend Tribune. She can be reached at juditabler@gmail.com or juditabler@awomansview.