Dreamer's World July 17 2016 - The Never-Ending Nightmare of Violence

     Apparently, the "new normal" has arrived. The days of simply enjoying a beautiful Summer day without yet another "breaking news" story about another senseless killing are a thing of the past. Will we tell our children or grandchildren about what life was like before this? Will they even believe that we could go for days, weeks, or if you are old enough to remember, months and even YEARS without these attacks taking place? Or will they look at us as if we have lost our damned minds?

     Is this the type of world that we WANT to leave to the next generation? How will we be able to explain to them that we could have done something, or HELL EVEN ANYTHING to stop this problem, and yet we did NOTHING? How can we tell them that unless we ourselves are in a state of denial about how bad things have gotten?

     Lots of questions so far. Not enough answers. Beware of those who have the "simple" answers, because they are never the ones that truly work. Violence is the result of many factors. Economic injustice, social injustice, lack of treatment for psychological conditions, racism in all its ugly forms, religion in all its ugly forms, politics that are nothing more than appeals to the most disgusting base instincts, lack of compassion, lack of understanding, greed, and privilege are just scratching the surface of why we are so damned violent.

     These factors combine to produce a generation of Americans who believe that only violence is the answer. Complex and critical thinking skills are a lost art. Communication with others to resolve differences has vanished from our societal discussion. Everyone exists in their own little social media bubble, surrounded by only those they agree with. Disagreements are not welcome. Unpleasantness is encouraged and rewarded by these micro-societies, and our isolation from one another only increases as a result.

     Our "leaders" speak only to those groups who will support their message. This is yet another reason violence is on the rise. The selective coverage of violence by the media attempts to convince us that there are only certain groups that are responsible for these atrocities. When someone outside of those specific groups is responsible, the media and our leaders are quick to bring out the "lone wolf" or "disturbed individual" labels.

     The media are quick to blame and slow to investigate. It has become a game to see if the media will EVER issue corrections after their "reporting" has been proven wrong time and time again. Accuracy is NOT the goal of the media these days, FEAR is the goal. FEAR to make us afraid to talk to our neighbors. FEAR to even interact with people who look different from ourselves. FEAR of those who came here from somewhere else. FEAR is a BU$INE$$ and BU$INE$$ is booming!

     The next time you try to comfort a child who is afraid because they are too innocent to know anything better, remember these things I have said. Is this the type of world that we want to leave to them? We are FUCKING THINGS UP and apparently have ZERO INTEREST in stopping anytime soon!