Shootings

It sucks, but this situation is likely to grow far worse before it begins to improve. I dearly hope that I live to see a unified world, but what I perceive at this moment is a growing tumor about to explode: society. We can place the blame on video games, lack of parenting, or the perpetrator him-/her-self, but until we realize our own culpability in this dilemma, we will be talking about this over and over again.

There is an endless slew of suffering plaguing the world, but most of us prefer to deny it. Instead, we settle into a naive bubble, completely unaware of the humongous blob of shit piling up around us. So long as we continue to live this way, bent only on achieving our own success, nothing is likely to change. We work hard, we come home, and then we numb ourselves to the pain in this world. And when those who suffer look to us for help, what do we do? We grumble in irritation, chastise them, and then bid them to leave us alone.

Tired of their tribulations, these orphans of misery grow weary and tired. They lose their faith and seek counsel amongst the 'underworld,' hoping to find anything that will quell the emptiness inside. Some of them discover religious fanaticism, while others join gangs. Even worse, some descend into a pit of paranoia and depression, only to lose any remaining grip that they had on reality. Regardless of the method, they eventually end up a follower (or dare I say... victim?) of darkness. Feeling empowered with a 'meaning' (or lack thereof) to their life, they then seek out revenge by inflicting their misery on us through murder and terrorism.

It is a vicious cycle: they suffer, we ignore them, and then they seek revenge. What can we do to combat this cycle? The common consensus is to increase security and arm ourselves in defense. But, does that really work? It seems obvious to me that the solution lies within the cycle itself. Instead of ignoring the wails of the ailing, would it not be wiser to open our hearts and ears to their pleas? Rather than chastise them for 'whining,' could we not just take a moment out of our day to at least listen, if not also offer advice and maybe even help them?

I sincerely believe that we possess the power to rectify many of the quagmires that currently pervade society. However, instead of choosing the right medium (opening our hearts), we always opt for the easy fix instead: policy. We make new security polices, weapon policies, and even policies dictating the construction of 'profiles' to help identify potential killers. These in turn only serve to further alienate those who suffer, thereby increasing the likelihood that they will fall into oblivion. No matter how hard they try to reach out to us, we just keep turning our backs on them, hoping that it will all go away like a bad dream. And then we wonder why it keeps happening over and over again.

*sighs*

We just don't get it.

And I don't think we ever will.