QUARANTINE LIFE: NO GOING BACK

Now we know who the players are. It may not feel like it, but that's always a good thing. I imagine there is an army of people with great integrity who've been taking names and copious notes. Consequences are on the way.

People have been emboldened to expose their true selves. From those who sit in seats of power, to misguided young men "playing army" in the woods, they've been brazen, antagonistic, arrogant, and evil. They've been duped into thinking their provocative, demeaning, and even dangerous words and behavior are the new norm--and that even God approves. They've succeeded in making many people afraid and anxious, and they delight in it. They've acted against their own interests thinking they were hurting strangers.

Politics has fractured families and friendships. It has given a virus a pass to run rampant because, of course, viruses give a damn about party affiliation, right? It has facilitated the deaths of millions. It didn't have to be this way, but at least now we all know who we're dealing with in government, and in our own circles.

No matter how things go down, there's no crawling back into the woodwork. There will, of course, be a lot of backpedaling; a lot of epiphanies and apologies as complicit people try to salvage their reputations, recover their integrity, and resume or repair their personal and professional relationships as if nothing has happened; as if their words haven't been documented, recorded, and broadcast. Many will attempt to excuse themselves from the tables at which they sat; they'll deny their participation in the chaos, and how they've profited from it.

There will be choruses of "I was just following orders"; "I didn't have a choice"; "I was just doing my job"; "I didn't really mean it"; I needed the money"; I was just playing"; "It was just a joke"; "I didn't think it would be this bad". There will be more tell-all books from people who could have alleviated a lot of suffering had they spoken up sooner.

As always, the corrupt will regroup, and forgiving people will leave vengeance to God. Social media, however, the modern day antithesis of the Sea of Forgetfulness, will be fished unmercifully for receipts every time anyone who played a part in the nation's great humiliation tries to deny or minimize their role in it.