We are evolutionarily wired to pay more attention to the negative than the positive, for our very survival. Thus, with an ever shorter, social-media- and sensation-driven news cycle, and a still ongoing pandemic, it is easy to lose sight of all the good changes that are happening.
With regards to IOI for instance, I want to highlight how our community came together—raising over $10,000 to ensure IOI’s continued ability to support the relief effort in Isabela—rather than lamenting the fact that our summer programs and fall semester have been canceled and how that is pushing us right to the edge of extinction. I want to highlight how IOI’s team has shown me consistently that a few, impassioned people can make a change—be it when they tirelessly deal with the medical issues of a participant, rise to the occasion and switch from tote-bag to mask making during a pandemic, or when they take on government-requested disaster relief programs in times where their own health is at risk and their economic futures are shrouded in uncertainty. They ARE the change, without much recognition or remuneration. I am humbled to work with such a dedicated group of good people.
With regards to daily life in the US, where life-after-Covid seems further away than in other OECD countries, we can feel society changing. While some of the efforts to re-open the economy clearly were premature, and the US did not adequately use the lockdowns to increase testing or establish contact tracing, we should focus on (and support) the positive changes we can see every day.
Last month, society at large finally started to address racism, systemic inequality, and police brutality. Many, including IOI, pledged to no longer be silent bystanders. Millions protested in the streets for BLM. And while that struggle continues, June also brought hopeful legal realities to the fore with important decisions in LGBTQ+ protections, women's reproductive rights, and DACA. Continuing the spirit of Pride Month and living up to our pledge to no longer be silent, I would like to encourage all of us to speak up for these and other worthy causes. We are all in this together!
Keep up the spirit, be well, and live the change - Happy 4th of July.
Johann
