It's All Our Fault!

It seems like after every tragic shooting, no matter who did it or who the victims were, the whiners come out in droves to blame the other team. Before you get your feathers all in a ruffle thinking I am pointing a finger at one specific group, here this: IT’S EVERYONE’S FAULT!!!!! We stigmatize race, culture, guns, religion, and each other!! We placidly move through life thinking “hey, if it doesn’t affect me, I don’t want to hear about it!  I can’t do anything anyway!!” Is that responsible thought? We all judge and let ourselves get caught up in the rhetoric of those with whom we align ourselves without giving one thought or care that there may be another side to each and every story. Most of the time those we align ourselves are making money off their tweets or posts or websites that we so religiously follow and blindly believe.  How often do you stop to explore or research an opposing view? I guess it’s easier to read a meme or a quick post on the internet rather than educate ourselves or our children of the fact that we are all human, we all make mistakes, misunderstand each other and that there are often other sides to all stories. We fail to educate our children on the evils of the world and to think critically.  We allow our children to view violent, obscene and vulgar images on television; we give a child a cell phone and never monitor their activity on it, (I have seen kids as young as 9 or 10 with Facebook accounts or watching YouTube videos with violent content). And we as adults are often poor role models with our posts, images, blaming, and actions in our own lives. We the public have become lazy in our thinking. It’s ok to disagree, or to point out faulty thinking or wrongs when we see them. But lets do it intelligently and with the thoughtful consideration of those we may offend when we form our words.  We have lost our ability to respectfully disagree, and to debate with a sense of honor. We align ourselves on one side and refuse to budge. And this friend, is what encourages the radical behavior seen in so many troubled people today.  We are loosing our heart and soul to the Internet and media giants. We are forgetting who we are and what it means to love and feel compassion for each other regardless of our personal views. I once read a quote: “We are all born crying; some just learn how to stop”  Lets all stop crying around and start reaching out to each other before it is too late. Let’s find a way to reach out to each other in love and compassion, and forgiveness, lest we find a tragedy like today’s or yesterdays or all the days before in our own back yard!