One Day More

Les Miserables is one of those stories that will always feel timeless to me. In short, the story itself mainly follows the life of Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who seeks to live a better life but is constantly haunted by his past mistakes and hunted down because of them. There are other characters whose stories intertwine with Valjean's but what's most significant to me about the story is that it takes place in France during the late 1800s in the midst of political upheaval. What ultimately transpires over the course of the story is incredibly reminiscent of what we are experiencing today.

People are wrongly accused of crimes they didn't commit or given heavy sentences for small crimes, while others much deserving of penalties walk free. Women are judged and rejected for the choices they make even if that choice was the only one they had and subsequently, they make far more consequential choices. Individuals who hold a semblance of authoritative power choose to be judge and executioner when their position suggested that it was their duty to uphold peace and protect civilians. But most of all, the everyday people seek to make a better life for themselves and those around them. They believe in a world far better than what they have so they take to the streets to shout and sing in the midst of their own anger and pain, hoping through their efforts that life can and will be better. I won't spoil what happens if you have not read, watched, or heard the story but I hope that you can tell from the title of the story that life is a miserable affair and sometimes no matter how good or kind or righteous you try to be, the outcome may not be what you expect. But there is always hope.

2020 has been pretty miserable. And even when the new year comes, there will be hurdles that we will still need to overcome in 2021 and in the years to come. I don't know what may happen tomorrow but I know I will need to prepare for the worst.

But I will not be miserable.

I can't be.

And collectively, we can't afford to be.

Regardless of how many of us feel today about tomorrow, tomorrow will happen and we, as a nation, will have to deal with the implications of who will be chosen to lead this country. But whoever is chosen does not and will not have the final say in who we are and how we live.

We do. And we will live.