I'm extremely scared for this world of ours.
It seems as if there isn't a day that goes by without some type of shooting, stabbing or fight taking place whether it be on the national or local level. Within 10 minutes of watching the news, this type of story is almost always undoubtedly featured right between the person who was arrested for drug-related charges and the person who caused a car accident because they decided it would be a smart idea to drive under the influence. Just the other day, I watched a story on my local news about an incident at gas station where a woman smoking a cigarette doused another woman in gasoline and threatened to set her on fire all because she was asked to put it out. At a gas stationwhere you are not even allowed to smoke in the first place due to highly obvious reasons. God forbid you consider the safety of others without having your life put on the line because some ignorant person is incapable of following standard procedure.
More recently, two black men unnecessarily lost their lives to this type of violence and then five police officers were killed in retaliation. Maybe I missed the memo but when was it decided that killing each other was the answer to all our problems? Altercation at the grocery store? Let me draw a gun on the cashier who politely asked me to leave (true story). Had a fight with my significant other? Stabbing them seems like a good way to work out our differences. A singer sings Christian songs, which is something I don't believe in. Maybe I should stop to listening to her music? Wait, no I'll shoot her dead at her own concert. No. No. No. There is no excuse for this behavior and as ridiculous as it all sounds, it occurs daily. The concept that using violence only leads to more violence is something that we just can't seem to grasp and understand.
There is a complete disregard for human life in the United States and around the world, and it is absolutely terrifying. Every day I see hashtag this life matters and hashtag that life matters, which of course they all do, but if you think for even a second that one life matters more than another you are already living in your own personal hell. We need to open our eyes and realize that yes, people are different, but no one is superior.
The future used to be an exciting thing to think about, but now it is downright scary. I have goals I want to accomplish, places I want to travel and people I want to meet but I can no longer do these things without having to worry about if I will make it home safely at night. I can't go to class or the movies without having the fear that someone might draw a gun and begin shooting. I desperately want to have kids one day but what kind of world will I be bringing them into? I don't want them to worry about their safety at school or have them be afraid to express who they are because some racist, homophobic, sexist (and so on) jerk thinks they have the right to dictate how other people carry out their lives.
I understand that life isn't fair but having to live in a world with so much hatred and spite is beyond unfair. Growing up, we are told to be ourselves and do what we love but I'm not even sure if that is entirely possible anymore. Actually, it's possible but not without having to worry that someone might not agree with you and want to cause you harm because of it. The good that exists in this world does not deserve to be constantly plagued with fear. We only have one life to live and instead of making the most of it we now just try to survive.
They say "Make America Great Again." I say make it a civilized society first.
As for the rest of the world? Here's to hopefully seeing some positive change in the near future.
