The World We Know

With the events that seem to be continually occurring in our country looming over us, I feel I, as a chaplain and blogger, should at least acknowledge and comment on them. You may agree with me or you may not. Please remember these are my thoughts, based on my experiences, and my opinions and beliefs. I am not saying I am right or anyone else is wrong. I feel we need to open discussions up in this country and our world about serious issues. Yes, discussions. Not debates. Not argue over who is better than who or who is right and who is wrong. We need to discuss, in a civilized manner, the serious topics before it becomes to late to have discussions and find agreements, solutions, and yes, even some compromises.

Like I said, you may like all or part of what I have to say, or you may not. However much you agree or disagree with me is fine. But please hear me out. This is not a place for arguments, negativity, name calling, or blaming. I only write this because I feel I can no longer sit silently by and not say anything. Because, by not saying anything, I am saying something. And that is that I don’t care or that I agree with what is happening. Basically, I am giving my permission for these acts of violence to be carried out. And I do not agree.

I do not agree at all. I do not believe that it is right that someone can walk into anywhere and open fire on a crowd of innocent people. I do not believe that anyone should die suddenly at the hands of another just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not do I believe that it is right for someone to die because of the color of their skin, place of birth, sexual orientation, choice of music, or any other reason someone could come up with. Nor do I believe that arguments are won or lost by shooting someone you disagree with.

We have to do something. We have to change this culture before we are all killed. It is not just a matter of gun laws and restrictions. It is not just a matter of mental health. While I do believe that both of these are important, there are other things that are more important and should come first.

Yes I believe we do need new gun regulations. No I am not saying to take away anyone’s guns. I do not think this is the answer. But why does anyone, outside of military personnel, need an automatic or semi-automatic weapon? What purpose does this serve other than to kill people. You cannot hunt with them. Our forefathers did not mean for us to have weapons that’s soul purpose was to kill other humans in our homes when they established the right to bare arms. This right is to be able to defend ourselves against attack from those things which are trying to kill us. A wild animal or an attacker are examples. A school of innocent children or a crowd at a concert are not hurting anyone. Yet, these military weapons are not being used by civilians to defend their home and property against an intruder or predator. No, they are being taken out into our communities to wage war on innocent people.

We blame video games, Hollywood, and taking prayer out of schools, but are these really the culprits of the greater issues we are facing in this country? The same video games are played throughout the world. They are not creating killers in other countries. The same movies and tv shows are watched around the world but again this is not convincing others to spread violence. I grew up, along with millions of other, watching Bugs Bunny, Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner, and all of the other cartoons which are not not not suitable for children because of the violence, yet I am not a violent person. The number of violent incidents has gone up dramatically since these cartoons have been taken away from children, so I don’t think that was what was making people violent.

Yes we do need to address the issue of mental health in this country and around the world. We need to de-stigmatize the thought that we are all above needing help and someone to talk to. Yes mental health is a real issue and yes we need to discuss it. We need proper care for those who suffer from being mentally unhealthy. We need to help people to know that it is ok to ask for help. We need to provide care for everyone, not just those who are brought in by police of family members because they are concerned for the patient’s wellbeing. Just as we do not stigmatize going to the Primary Care Physician for a check-up, or going to worship for our spiritual wellbeing, we should not stigmatize for going to a counselor or therapist to make sure we are mentally healthy. In order to be holistic, we must first be whole. This means we need to take care of all of us. We should not feel ashamed or that something is wrong with us for wanting to take care of ourselves. We should not feel we are wrong or broken for asking for help.

We need to start letting those around us know we care. This is really what this country needs. It is not stricter laws and regulations. It is not banning what we can watch or not watch. It is not one political party or another. We are polarizing ourselves to the point of brokenness and chaos. We want to praise the extremists and chastise those who are moderate. We want to see how far we can push the limits and those that don’t come along are wrong and should be gotten rid of.

Yet, is this way of thinking and being really helping anyone. NO. It is not. All we are doing is polarizing ourselves and creating the problems we were afraid of. Now they are the ones that are growing exponentially. It seems almost weekly now we hear of more violence. More people crying out. Our culture of extremism is not teaching love and acceptance. It is teaching those that are the most extreme get heard and get their way. Basically they win.

There are now travel advisories and warnings from other countries advising people not to come to the USA because of the violence we have created and continue to do nothing about. Yes, I did say do nothing about. Until we start actually doing something to stop it, to encourage unity and not division, we are doing nothing about the issues we are facing.

We are called to love one another. My understanding of all of the world’s religions is that no matter which religion you look at (and yes that is including science as a religion) they all have some form of The Golden Rule at their core. Love one another. Do not harm. Yet, are we following what we are teaching? Are we loving our fellow humans when we do not stop to listen to them? Or when we put them down because they have another point of view? If we do not stop to think about where they might be coming from or to learn their story, are we really able to have an opinion about them? But we judge people before know them, before can hear all of what they have to say or what their background is.

We are all in this crazy boat we call humanity together. If we are going to make it to the end, we are going to have come together instead of tearing apart. We are probably the most divided country. And we are dividing over more and more everyday. Why can we not see that this is how we will fall. If we do not come together to truly take care of each other, we will all crumble. This is how the worlds such as The Handsmaids Tale and The Hunger Games come about. Not because of one political party, but because we do not care enough about each other to show love and compassion for our neighbors. And this is where it all starts. Not with rules and regulations. Not with more programs. No, it starts with coming together, accepting our differences, learning about each other, and sharing with those around us that, even though we may be different and disagree, we can still learn fro each other and find common ground. We can all help each other, no matter what.