To February 3, and Beyond!

In the 1993 hit comedy “Groundhog Day”, Bill Murray plays TV weatherman Phil Connors, a cynic who becomes trapped in a time loop, doomed to repeat February 2nd over and over again until he can figure out a way to break the cycle and turn the page to February 3. Phil tries everything he can think of to break free, including suicide, but it’s only when he sets aside his selfish desires that he is finally able to move on with his life.

I don’t know about you, but to me the last two years have felt an awful lot like being stuck in a time loop. It seems like the world has fallen into a rut during the pandemic. Millions of people around the world have died of Covid-19, yet day after day, folks continue to have the same arguments about the virus. Covid is real vs. Covid is a hoax. Mask mandates slow the spread of disease vs. Mandatory masking is akin to the Holocaust. Vaccines are safe and effective vs. Vaccines are the government’s way of tracking us. Will these disagreements ever end, and will we ever be able to move on?

As long as we have a fixed mindset, we will never move on.

Covid isn’t the only thing we argue about incessantly. Voting should be easier vs. Voting should be restricted. We should teach kids about the history of race in this country vs. We shouldn’t make white kids feel uncomfortable about the history of race in this country. We should tear down statues of Confederate traitors vs. We should preserve our Southern heritage. The January 6 insurrectionists should be thrown in prison vs. The patriots who took a friendly tour of the Capitol on January 6th are heroes. Why can’t we reach a consensus about these fundamental issues that continue to divide us?

At the local level, we are just as divided. Some folks are upset with the school board for dropping most Covid mitigation measures while others celebrate the lack of mandates as a victory for personal liberty. Individual school board candidates are both vilified and applauded by their neighbors, as is a certain newspaper columnist who writes about the issues affecting our community. How can we get past our differences and break free of this pattern of ceaseless arguing?

We must embrace a growth mindset.

Relief eventually comes to Phil Connors, but only after he spends a great deal of time working on personal growth and becoming a selfless human being. Can we, the people of Southern Boone County, follow Phil’s example and break free from our curse? Are we ready to be better people and place others’ needs before our own? Or when we wake up tomorrow, will we still be stuck in exactly the same rut we are in today?

I am tired of being in a rut, and I am tired of being at-odds with other people. It is truly exhausting. I hate conflict, and when I write about hot-button topics, I dread the inevitable pushback. It would be so much easier if I simply stopped writing about important yet controversial subjects and stuck with funny anecdotes instead. But writing fluff pieces will not help me grow as a person, nor will it help me facilitate my fellow human beings’ growth.

I’m afraid that as long as I have an opinion column in the newspaper, I must continue to occasionally write about things that divide us. My hope is that I might cause a reader to rethink his or her own views, which may help bridge the divide.

Writing (and the deep contemplation that fuels my writing) helps me discover truths about the world and about myself. These discoveries lead to personal growth and a desire to help others grow as well. A growth mindset is the key to moving forward, to February 3rd, and beyond.