Where do we go from here? As a concerned parent, I struggle with my emotions related to the constant gun violence within our schools around the country. I thought a school was supposed to be a safe place for our children to learn, to dream, to imagine, and to grow friendships. However, every time I watch the evening news, there seems to be yet another tragedy plaguing our hearts, another story of senseless violence toward our children. Unfortunately, our children are no longer safe when they attend school because people are violating this safe zone to terrorize and murder innocent people for their own selfish gratification. What makes matters worse, is these stories seem to be the norm in our communities…in our cities…in our states…all over the United States of America! Our elected politicians only want to discuss this issue when there is another school shooting that takes place. Do you notice this trend too? Quite frankly, one death should be too many! Every American should be outraged at how our politicians are handling these kind of life changing events. These tragedies can happen anywhere. The next time it may be a school in your area, just a thought.
Where do we go from here? I honestly think that we need to discuss the root of the problem, in my opinion…MENTAL HEALTH! I don’t know about you, but I hear mental health come up in every last one of these mass shooting stories. As I look at the mental health programs in our community, or the lack there of, mental health is the first program to have funding cut and our politicians always choose to close the mental health facilities. I often wonder where people go that need this mental health resource? Unfortunately, these people have to deal with their own personal issues and they live right in the midst of our neighborhoods. We will never solve the gun violence as a whole because we do not have control of every person that owns or gets a gun in their possession, but we could make an attempt to reduce the number of casualties and/or school shooting events around the United States of America if we only had courage to do so, just a thought.
Where do we go from here? Well, I feel that we should go back to the basics: love, family unit, and prayer. This is truly my inspirational twist to such a serious problem that exists everywhere in the United States of America. First, where is the love and compassion for one another throughout our communities? I was taught that charity begins at home. We have to teach our children to love themselves so they will be able to love others. Also, we have to teach our children how to respect themselves as well as others, and their property. Remember, we cannot be afraid to correct our children when they are wrong. We must continue to embrace them with love and nurture them to the fullest. Second, where is the strong family unit? I remember the saying “a family that prays together, stays together”. When was the last time your family prayed together? When was the last time you sat down and talked with your child and/or a young person? Communication is very important and don’t under estimate our children. Remember, our children are little people that exists in a cruel and harsh world. Third, when do we pray together besides in church? Personally, I think we should put prayer back into our schools so that our children could have a spiritual covering throughout their day, but that’s my opinion. There is so much confusion and chaos within our schools and It seems to be getting worse, not better. After all, our children spend a great deal of time in school, so we need to give them hope again by offering a more positive and safe educational environment.
We don’t have control of gun violence, but we should have control of our households. Strive to meet the need of anyone, young or old, that may be suffering from mental health issues. Don’t just turn a blind eye to the situation. Do the right thing and find some help in your local community. If you are unable to find the services, contact your state or county and demand services be provided. Don’t forget your child’s school as well. The school may have mental health contacts to provide to families too. Finally, let’s begin sending letters and making phone calls to our politicians. I believe our children are worth it. After all, they are the future for tomorrow, right? I would love to hear your opinion about this matter. Please leave a comment so we can discuss this very important topic on a positive platform.
This is a very hot topic! And a very difficult situation to remedy. Originally I thought that stronger gun laws might help solve this problem, but there are already good gun laws in effect. So I no longer think more laws would help.
It is good citizens and good parenting that I feel will make the difference. When did people start to get the idea that it was o.k. to use a gun to solve their problems? Obviously these people are not thinking clearly. Is Mental Health services the answer? I am not sure. People who are having a mental crisis rarely are able to recognize that they need help and, even if they did recognize it, they are frequently in such a crisis they can’t begin to know what steps to take to get help.
My points of view come from a very naive perspective. I wouldn’t begin to know where to get a gun from let alone how to use it. Which all points back to how and what we teach our children about the use of violence for solving problems. So I agree with you, Latisha, about family values being of utmost importance along with God’s law about loving everyone. As far as prayer in the schools go, you can forget that. Our world has become too diverse religiously and there would never be agreement about prayer.
To make the situation even more complicated I feel Social Media is a negative contributor. We get all kind of awful info from Social Media that many people take as gospel. So how do we control Social Media?
Lastly, what as a community are we willing to give up in order to pay for more Mental Health services. My middle class income is already stretched about as far as it can go. Are we willing to give up the school programs that provide meals to our poor children? Are we willing to give up the money spent to support people on Medicare? I could go on and on, but I think you get my point here. It is such a difficult and tragic situation that I think our government is frozen in knowing how to even begin solving this violence problem we are facing. No matter what steps they take there will be fallout because they won’t be able to please everyone.
So LOVE, LOVE, LOVE has got to be the answer! And it is up to each one of us to do the best we can. IMHO.
I love your perspective my friend and thanks so much for sharing it on this platform. Social Media is yet another one of those hot topics that most parents take for granted. You cannot watch your children every moment of the day, but when they are in your presence, you need to watch their online activity very closely. You can call it being overly protective, I call it being a parent. As far as how mental health programs should be funded, the funds should come from the wealthy, not the middle class. Let’s be honest here, our government finds money to do everything on their agenda, but put the agenda of the people last every time.
WOW! Some important topics are brought up here! I have to agree… What the world needs is LOVE. All the time- not just when tragedy strikes. In my opinion-it all starts at home too. YET so difficult to teach love & acceptance of others when parents are not setting good examples, the drug epidemic, social media; there are countless reasons… It’s also hard too, when your child needs to be corrected- and that God given right has been taken away from parents. We are at a time where respect for other people has been basically “thrown out the window” and we are so focused on me,me, me. What’s in it for me?
I do believe that God should be brought back into the schools too…. We all need something to believe in, a higher power, goodness to strive for, rules to follow…. right??
Jennifer, I certainly agree with you my friend. We all need love and to believe in a higher power! You bring up yet another way the government has stripped away the parents role in raising children, but then parents are responsible when the children skip school or fall into the world of crime. Unfortunately, time out do not work for most children. I will go a step further, just talking to most children don’t work either. It’s a catch 22. There are some good parents who spend a lot of time teaching their children and the children still drifts away into the world. What can you do, but pray and hope for the best. Thanks for providing your perspective on this platform!