Among the *many* patterns I’ve noticed is, these people almost always take their own lives, instead of facing what they’ve done, or going out ‘guns blazin’ as so many braggarts say they would.
They are cowards, plain and simple. They are weak-minded, useless simpletons who can only feel powerful when taking the lives of innocents. When faced with having to answer for their crimes, they take the cowards way out.
Yes, this is a mental health issue; yes, there are arguments to be made for tighter gun laws. Yes, this is also a social issue, and no legislation can correct a populous that is riddled with self-hate, lashes out meaninglessly, and somehow perpetuates the creation of others like them.
You can bet your ass that, despite all the ‘thoughts and prayers’ coming out of Washington, you won’t see a mental health bill anymore than you will see a gun control bill. And you sure as hell won’t see the majority of Americans (who exist in the political middle) have any chance of being heard over the loud, bombastic sensationalist, who use their hyperbolic arguments to do exactly what is not needed; they cause even more fear, generate more hopelessness, and grow more cowards.
It is past time to stand up. We were Eagles, once. Now, we are nothing but a joke, living in ever-descending cycles of anger and insanity. And that isn’t the fault of our government – that crime belongs, at some level, to us all.
So, what can we do? First, we need to reject our fear, be it of change, death, life, whatever. Fear makes people feel powerless, and we are anything but. You don’t have to kill unarmed people to be able to realize that.
Second, we need to actually hold people to higher standards of behavior, both in business, and in day to day activities. There is no room for hypocrisy here. We all know how we should act; why give a pass for bad behavior to someone just because they share some of your views? An asshole is an asshole, no matter what colours they wear, or what flavor their politics take.
Last, we need to stop looking for scapegoats for all our problems, and tackle the issues together. Pointing fingers of blame is childish, and useless. Find the problem, gather real experts, find a solution that works for everyone (meaning, dare I say it, *compromise*!) and come together like the UNITED country we are supposed to be.
No, this won’t solve everything, but its a start. And these are steps that we can all begin to take, in our daily lives, to help stop this murderous madness from forcing us all down a much darker road.
