I would like to start this article out by saying that I hadn’t planned on writing this. I had a whole slew of light-hearted, fun, college-life articles that I can’t wait to share with the world, and I thought my first article would be one of those. However, in light of recent tragedies that have struck the country, I felt I had to share this. I just didn’t feel right trying to come off as happy and bubbly when I feel like my heart is breaking for my country, and for the thousands of people who have lost their lives, and their loved ones over the hate that has corrupted our society.

I wish I could say that humanity has officially reached a new low over the course of these past few weeks, but sadly, I don’t think that’s true. While the recent shootings and tragedy in Dallas, have certainly brought on a new wave of sadness and shock throughout America, I don’t think it’s true because I, along with many others all throughout the U.S. (and the entire world for that matter), started fearing for our future a long time ago. Allow me to explain.

A few years ago, I would be shocked every time I would notice the U.S. flags around my community being flown at half-mast. I knew it meant a tragedy had occurred, either in the nation or the local area, and I would immediately scour the internet to pray for the families of whoever was involved. Lately, there haven’t been enough hours in the day for me to pray. By now, it has become almost more shocking for me to see our flags aren’t displaying the latest tragedy. Sometimes I don’t even want to know about them anymore. Our nation is merely a shadow of its old self, just straggling by and picking up the pieces of the last act of violence, before another one happens.

I find it simply unbelievable that the country I have loved full-heartedly for my entire existence has become one that I now fear. When I think about where I want to move in the future, my choices are determined not by where I most want to go, but by where I feel I will be less likely to be caught in a mass shooting. When I go to the mall with my friends, I feel my eyes roaming around, absently planning where the best place would be for me to hide. These have become the new norms of our society and it makes me want to pack up and leave.

However, I don’t think leaving will help. This problem -- this epidemic -- of violence, is not one that knows boundaries, or stays within the lines of one soul country. It isn’t fueled by one cause or another, because it has become a way of life. Hate has become the norm for our country. Hate has become the norm for our world. People can blame it on mental health issues, racism, malicious police officers, homophobia - anything really, but at the very heart of all those problems is hate.

We as people have come to react to everything with a certain level of hate, without even realizing we’re doing it. We’re teaching the young children of the world, who will one day grow and change society as we are now, that it’s OK to protest with violence. That it’s OK to hate someone for doing one wrong deed against you. That it’s OK to respond with violence when someone doesn’t agree with or follow your way of life. That it’s OK to stereotype, label, and condemn entire populations, and use it as a ploy for violence. No wonder people react in the way they do. No wonder it seems as though we can’t last even an entire week before hearing another travesty has wrecked our nation.

If we continue in this way, down this horrifying path, for much longer, I’m terrified of what will happen. I feel like I’m just waiting for someone to do something, for someone to do anything. Then I realized that no one person can do something. Ten people can’t change this, a hundred people can’t change this, not even our entire nation can change this - not in the way that we are accustomed to.

No amount of protesting, no amount of angrily written Facebook posts, no amount of poorly written calls to action (yes, I see the irony in that one) is going to change anything, unless we start doing something differently. Until we, as people, start to realize that love and compassion and understanding are, and always have been, the antidote to hate, then nothing will change.

I’ve seen and heard people asking all over media outlets and news sources what we, as a nation, are going to do about these tragedies. The answer is a simple one. Don’t respond to hate with hate. Don’t tear each other down for being different. Don’t start a violent protest against violence. Don’t add more fuel to a fire that is already massively out of control.

For years, our country has been praying for peace. We’ve been trying to create a nation that is all-accepting, all-loving, and violence-free. To that I say, we must actively seek out that which we so desperately need. To achieve peace, we must be peaceful. To end racism, we must be color blind. To end violence-causing hatred, we must: Stop. Being. Hateful. We have to start looking at people through more understanding, compassionate and loving eyes, because obviously this hatred thing isn’t working.

I will leave you now, mostly because I have to cut myself off from writing a book on this topic, for which I feel so strongly. However, I will end by saying that I know it’s not easy to stop hate. I myself struggle with it every day. It’s hard to change the way we’ve been thinking for years. Though the more difficult option almost always proves to be the one that makes the most change. To leave you with one last thought -- here are the brilliantly thoughtful words of Franklin D. Roosevelt:

“The value of love will always be stronger than the value of hate. Any nation or group of nations which employs hatred eventually is torn to pieces by hatred.”