Over 200,00 people are dead from COVID-19 in the United States. Almost a million people have been killed by COVID-19 worldwide, but no one seems to care.

Instead of a disease that we work as a country to overcome, COVID-19 has been turned into a political weapon used to divide party lines.

While the United States is debating over whether COVID-19 is something we should be scared about, people are dying. We are currently number one in the world for most COVID-19 cases. We have turned from a country that was respected into a laughingstock.

I am embarrassed and ashamed of our country and how far we have fallen.

You may disagree with me. You may think that COVID-19 is nothing to be worried about. It’s just something that was made up to instill fear and control us. You may think the United States is the best it has ever been.

You’d be wrong.

The United States democracy is at the edge of collapsing, African Americans are being murdered in the street by the very people sworn to protect us, equality for women and the LBGTQ+ community is in jeopardy, the world is on fire, no one listens to one other and our country is so divided I fear that we will start another civil war.

It feels like the end of the world is coming.

Social media has just been draining. If I’m not seeing some depressing news, I’m seeing people not following COVID-19 guidelines. People are posting pictures of them hanging out with huge groups of friends, going to parties, going to the bars, eating out, going to the mall as well as other places.

Yes, I am jealous of you. It’s my senior year at college. I’m supposed to be hanging out with my friends and going out. But for everyone going out, I may be jealous but I also think that you’re all idiots.

Every time that you go outside, you are risking your life and everyone else that you interact with. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know how I could live with being the person that caused my parents, friends, or my friends’ family to die.

Please stay home as much as you can. I know it sucks, but you are helping save lives. When you can’t stay home, please, PLEASE, wear a mask. And wear it above your nose. I see everyone at Simpson that does this. I know it’s not the most comfortable thing, but when you wear it like that, you’re not protecting anyone. It also makes you look dumb.

My mental health has suffered greatly this year. I know I’m not the only one. Every day there seems to be something else. I feel alone and in despair. The only thing getting me through this year is hope.

Hope that we will get people in government that care about the wellbeing of everyone that lives in the U.S. Hope that we will find a vaccine. Hope that the world will overcome this.