Halloween will look different this year...

A frightening lack of leadership

What are we supposed to do this Halloween? We know “This is the Year When Everything is Different,” but what kind of different are we supposed to do? Will there be trick or treating? If so, how do you do it safely? If there is no trick or treating, what do you do instead? And if people want their kids to go door to door for candy, and you don’t want to participate, how can you opt out politely without getting egged?

This is another example of why the lack of leadership in this pandemic is so painful. I’m not going to point my finger solely at You-Know-Who, although the problem starts at the top. Among local leaders and even families on our own street, there is no agreement. And you can’t have a discussion without worrying about stirring fights between those who have Biden lawn signs and those who have Trump lawn signs. No one is willing to talk, nothing gets discussed, and no one knows what to do.

Meanwhile, we’ve hit 69,000 new weekly average cases in the United States and have blown past 225,000 deaths.

We look to Election Day to fix everything, but we can’t wait until November 3. Somebody has to step up, but the task of taking the lead seems overwhelming and downright dangerous. As I write this, Amy Coney Barrett has been confirmed for the Supreme Court and a wildfire rages not too far from my home. We feel that the world has spun out of control. While we shouldn’t depend on some superhero to solve all our problems, we could use someone who can gather the best advice, make the tough decisions, and give us the strength and confidence to get through them.

We want to get back to normalcy, but it will take someone can define what normal should be and how we get there. We know we can’t magically pretend that everything is fine despite all the evidence to the contrary. We need honest leadership, clear vision, and realistic hope.

Halloween is supposed to be a time for ghost stories and scary movies, but the lack of leadership is the most frightening thing of all. This is something we should keep in mind as we head to the polls.

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