By Bella Pelletiere
2020 has been a crazy year to say the least.
It all started when Kobe Bryant and his daughter were killed tragically in a helicopter accident back in January. Then we got news that a deadly virus was heading our way. The entire country was shut down, while President Trump reassured us that COVID-19 was just like the normal flu. Small businesses closed down, hospitals were overcrowded, New York City was apocalyptic, the streets were filled with protests over race, West Coast states started to burn, and hurricanes battered the South Coast. All the while we watched for the television in our homes.
When Adam and Marissa Goldstein left Vietnam as communities were hit by the disease, and headed back to the states, they never expected for their company to pivot from bags and accessories….to face masks.
We all have adjusted to what we now call “a normal life.” Before we leave the house, we make sure to grab a mask. We make sure our children’s masks are on tight, that way they can’t take them off while touching everything they possibly can. We’ve spent most of the year trapped in our houses, watching the news of what they could possibly tell us next about the pandemic that has literally taken over our lives.
While adjusting to this “normal,” we’re also experiencing an election that is being called the most important in history. No matter what side you’re on, or even if you’re not on any side at all, we all know that we need change. Whether that change will go forward or backward is probably the #1 thing we’re worried about.
According to Business Insider, around 138 million Americans voted in the 2016 election. However, those 138 million Americans only make up 58.1% of our voting-eligible population. That means almost half of Americans who were eligible to vote in 2016, just simply did not vote.
On November 3rd, we all have a responsibility to head to the polls and do our part. Whether that’s through early voting, mail-in voting, or waiting impatiently in line to fill in a box next to the candidate you see fit for the next 4 years…….with your mask on of course.
We don’t only do it for ourselves, but we do it for those who are coming after us; our kids, our grandchildren, and their children. What America will look like in the near future is a scary thought for all of us right now, but in the next couple of weeks - we will all have the chance to change it.
This is the reason why Rafi Nova created the VOTE masks.
Rafi Nova’s number one mission is to build and create community. Whether that’s outside the United States, or locally, helping our community can make an even bigger impact than we realize. Rafi Nova believes in using your voice to change your community. And that is by masking your face during this crazy COVID-19 pandemic, not your voice.
