Is the Rage and Rudeness of 2020 Getting to You?

2020 is literally making me break out in hives. I’ve never had hives before this year, but the doctor tells me it’s caused by allergies or stress. In my case, I’m not saying it is definitely stress instead of allergies. But I am saying that it seems to get worse when I watch the presidential debate, not when I pet a dog or eat peanuts. 

We recently flew to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to escape into nature for a while. But no matter where we go right now it seems like the world is a little uneasy. If feels like just beneath the surface, there is anger, or sadness, or fear ready to come out at any moment.  

On the flight into Jackson Hole, the woman next to me was screaming about not having enough room, and I just kept nodding and hoping no one was recording it, because I did not want to be on a viral video.

The next day, an angry driver cut us off in traffic and then was still so mad that he actually dropped back beside us so he could scream, “Get out of the car, you chicken, and fight!” 

As we set out on a hike our first day there, I got a snarky text from a friend.

Just when it was starting to feel like everyone was full of rage and rudeness, we came across a national park volunteer—a little, old lady. She was walking away from of us as we approached her, but she turned back, stopped what she was doing, and looked us in the eye. “We’re so happy you’re here,” she said in a voice so gentle that it brought tears to my eyes. It was like we were her beloved grandchildren she had been hoping to see. 

In a world that says, “We’re happy you’re here if you agree with us” or “We’re happy you’re here if you think or vote or look like we do,” it felt refreshing to encounter a welcoming spirit that put no disclaimers on the welcome. Whoever you are, we’re so happy you’re here. 

Over the next few days, Q and I tried to make people feel like that, like “we’re so happy you’re here.” We helped a woman who had been lost in the woods find her way back to her car. We joined a search party for a missing dog (we had met the puppy and his owner on the trail earlier that day). We invited strangers from Nebraska to sit with us at our long restaurant table so they wouldn’t have to wait an hour for their own. As we left, the man said, “This dinner was the highlight of our trip.” We talked throughout the week to people with a wide range of political views, and we listened most carefully to the ones we disagreed with so we could understand better. 

As our flight back home was landing, the flight attendant got on the intercom to welcome us to our destination. At the end of her announcement, she paused and started crying. Through her tears, she said this was the last flight before she and 8,000 other employees of that airline would be furloughed. As she cried over the intercom, everyone on the plane started applauding, and it felt like we were all telling her, “We’re so happy you’re here.” 

 I don’t know if I’m stressed by 2020 or allergic to something in it. Either way, I’m trying to keep a gentle, welcoming spirit. If you see me, look past the rash on my neck and face and know that I am so happy you are here.