In It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey is shown a world without him, and as we know, it’s pretty grim. That got me to thinking…what if one day an ill-intentioned angel granted the wish of an extremist who thinks the world’s populace should be homogeneous?
I wake up, turn on my radio and find…well, obviously, no hip hop or R & B -- no more Elvis Presley -- rock ‘n’ roll is gone. Country -- maybe some bluegrass. Jazz -- also missing from my playlist.
My breakfast of peanut butter toast? Not anymore. Adios to tacos, burritos and a lot of other delicious dishes. And as a vegetarian, I face a grim future without potatoes, corn, and squash.
Ballroom dancing will be pretty boring…not much left except the waltz, foxtrot and the polka. My favorites -- rhumba, tango and cha-cha -- missing from the dance floor.
And then I find that all day, I keep bumping into people who look a lot like me. That’s initially disconcerting and then pretty darn boring.
Perhaps, like the residents of Bedford Falls, I wouldn’t remember how good life was before everything changed. But I suspect, like the hapless residents of Capra’s fictional town, I would experience a life of quiet desperation.
Thankfully, extremists can’t simply make a wish and bend the world to their desires. However, extremists vote and some politicians pander to them. Voting in 2020 is the best way for me—and all who value the heterogeneous beauty of America--to avoid a not so wonderful life.
I’m Lori Drummond-Cherniwchan and that’s my perspective.
