America: Land of the Loose Cannons and Home of the Hateful (But We Can Fix It!)

I have absolutely had it with us, America. Our ridiculous, selfish, hateful behavior absolutely has to STOP. What are we doing to ourselves?!

In case you aren’t quite up to date and have no idea what caused this little late-night rant, here’s a quick fill-in for ya:

As I settled down to start a new novel tonight, I started seeing news reports about the police shootings at an otherwise peaceful protest in Dallas. At this point, four police officers have been killed by citizen snipers. I’ve spent the last couple of hours watching these events unfold, and there is no telling what the end result will be in the morning.

Of course, this came after I spent a couple hours this afternoon watching videos and reading about the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling.

Oh, and did I mention reading other articles today about the sky-high number of killings in Chicago this year? What about the recent shootings in Orlando?

For Pete’s sake, America.  What is wrong with us?

Why have we decided that violence is THE ONLY APPROACH to resolving a problem?

Why do we STILL have this significant racial tension in 2016?

Why do my young teenage students still feel the sting of injustice and inequality because of their skin pigmentation?

Why do my family and friends have to live in fear when my brother-in-law and my best friend’s husband, both police officers, head out to work to do their jobs…when all they are trying to do is protect the innocent and uphold the law…because someone who doesn’t even know them may decide to get revenge for other police officers’ actions?

I am SICK of this nonsense. I am SICK of the hatred. I am SICK of the fear, on every side. I am SICK of the violence.

People, we need to get a grip as a nation. America used to be a country to be proud of, but I am just going to say it: I AM NOT PROUD OF YOU LATELY, AMERICA.

I am embarassed by our lack of peace. I am embarassed by our lack of compassion and understanding. And I am definitely embarassed by our behavior.

What do we do when a tragic accident occurs? Eviscerate the person or people who were a part of it.

What do we do during a peaceful protest? Snipe the participants.

What do we do when someone tries to make a statement about ANYTHING? Rip them to ever-lovin’ shreds on the Internet instead of even giving them one second to say their piece and another second to give it an ounce of thought.

And you know, you could easily say that we are just following examples. I mean, look at our presidential candidates: do they actually DO anything in ads, debates, etc., besides sling insults at one another?

Here’s the deal, America. I don’t have an end-all solution for our problems, and I bet no one else does either…but we absolutely HAVE to start with love, and we need to start QUICKLY.

As Martin Luther King said: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

And you know how we can start this love transformation? By changing the way we, as individuals, love each other.

I mean…smile at each other instead of at our phones. Help someone who is injured or in trouble. Approach someone who is crying and see if anything can be done to assist. Be nice to each other on social media. Send a card in the mail. Visit someone in the hospital. Do SOMETHING to show love to a fellow human. I guarantee that if we all sincerely started treating each other this way, this country might get off to a better future. I am talking about true, Christ-like, Luke 6:31, Romans 13:10, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 loving on each other.

We can’t stand by any longer as silent citizens. Radical change absolutely has to take place in the way we treat each other and the way we run this country. We’re killing ourselves from the inside out when we hate each other like this.

Is change going to be easy? Probably not. Is it going to be awkward and unknown at times? Of course. But as Nelson Mandela said: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”