Friday, March 13, 2020

Remembering The End: An Introduction



Remembering the End is a series of satirical stories. Please do not mistake anything described as fact. These stories are merely a creative representation of what could happen. The author claims no responsibility for the misinformation that may spread as a result. With that being said, please enjoy.

            When we elected Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States of America, a lot of people thought the world was coming to an end. No one thought it was going to end like this. People today take modern medicine for granted—for almost the entirety of human history, if you got sick, you died—but now, we’ve developed treatments for diseases as severe as cancer and HIV. Humans are resilient; we’re survivors. At least, we used to be.
            The year is 2021. It’s late October, and the leaves are just beginning to change colors. A lot has changed in the last two years, but the seasons haven’t (at least not yet). When I was still in school, we learned about global warming—I thought for sure that would be the end of us. Instead, a viral pandemic wiped out 6.8% of the population. At first, everyone said it would be fine. They were developing a vaccine—it was only a matter of time—but things just kept getting worse. Death tolls increased as medical supplies dwindled. The stock markets crashed, and then they crashed again. The grocery stores ran out of food. We were not prepared for this.
            Most people stay to themselves these days. Over are the days of concerts and football games. What started out as a mild coronavirus in Wuhan, China in 2019 has since evolved into a resilient killer. Eventually, the doctors did develop a vaccine, but by the time they could distribute it globally, the virus had already begun to change. Seemingly always a step ahead of us, each new treatment yielded similarly futile results. Many people died along the way. It is possible that some of the survivors are simply immune to the virus, but there is no way to be sure. You still hear about someone dying from the virus from time to time, but it has definitely seemed to stall out for at the least the time being.
            Some folks have tried to return to some semblance of normal life. I envy those people—their ability to ignore the grief and trauma of the past is remarkable. Others, however, are just biding their time before the next wave. In case we don’t make it to 2022, I’ve decided to share a few stories—hopefully somebody survives to hear them.

Thursday, March 12, 2020

This is how the world ends

Not with nuclear war,
Not with stock market trends,
Not with exit poll scores,
This is how the world ends.

When the schools are all closed,
And the subways suspend,
When the groceries run out,
This is how the world ends.

Not with coal-powered plants,
Not with healthcare dead-ends,
With a lack of strong leaders,
That's how the world ends.

What we needed was love—
The right message to send.
When we don't come together,
That's how the world ends.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

20/20 re/Vision

I stopped writing around the time of the last election. It was 2016, and I was at Emory's Goizueta Business School studying Strategy & Management Consulting. At the time, I had become exceedingly cynical about the future, depressed even. I had this sinking feeling about the direction we were heading in as a country, and perhaps more importantly, as a global community. Everybody kept telling me not to worry—Hillary would win—everything would be just fine.

Well, we all know what happened next.

Four years later, I've seen a lot. I sat in silence as a new regime reshaped our nation. Just as I feared in the spring of 2016, our country has grown more divided than ever. Each side holds so much disdain for the other, that compromise seems wholly impossible for virtually any issue. I can't speak for everyone, but it feels like neither side is prepared to engage the other in meaningful discussion, debate, or growth.

For a long time, I was convinced that the fate of America and the world at large was beyond saving—how could we possibly recover from the relentless onslaught of hate and heartbreak? I've since come to the realization that while our issues may appear impossible to resolve right now, they are no different in nature than the challenges humans have faced throughout our history.

So, I've decided it's time to stop sitting on the sideline. If we're going to build a future that all of us can be proud of, we'd best start now. All hands on deck.

Are you in?

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

What's Left?

Our great nation's President,
Manhattan resident,
Donald J. Trump--
Some describe him as reticent,
Yet, his power cements,
With each tragic event.
Made his fortune on rent,
Years collecting bad debt.
The election was theft.
Tried to stay relevant.
Then his morals got bent,
Far too right--
Now, what's left?