It seems like every time I walk past a television, there’s a newscast of another peaceful protest gone wrong, another shooting, another rape, another attack. It’s not hard to imagine why everyone is constantly high-strung and has a lack of trust. It almost seems as though the thought of fear is being instilled in our brains at all hours of the day anymore. What happened to trust? What happened to loving those around us and being supportive?

I had an experience a few days ago that was truly concerning to me, and while it may not make others feel the same way—it hit close to home for me. As I was stopped at a gas station pumping gas into my car, I saw two local cop cars pulled into the parking lot. The area I was in is fairly low in crime so I was shocked to see that all of the cops were wearing bulletproof vests.

Is this the way we want to be living—in fear that these men who put their life on the lines daily are having to take extreme measures? Especially, when they are in an area that something harmful is highly unlikely to happen. Sure, there are some terrible cops in this country and I am not naive to that, but what about the good guys? There is already a chance that the good guys aren’t coming home to their families that night because of senseless actions that could easily be prevented.

On another note, as long as you are a law-abiding citizen you should not feel fearful to have those blue and red lights flashing behind you. You have the right to feel safe. People should not be fearful to go to the movies, to the mall, to church, or to nightclubs and bars. However, people are more fearful than ever. What is the cause for all of this turmoil?

I have seen so many people cancel trips abroad due to the fears of what is happening overseas. Is this really the way we want to live? Growing up, all I wanted to do was to be able to visit my family that still lives overseas. I wanted to experience the culture in which my family before me grew up in. I might not be able to do such a thing because of the fear that is instilled in us. I might not be able to experience all of what life has to offer. Shouldn't I be able to experience all these things without the concerning requests of my parents begging me to rethink my decisions to want to do such a thing?

As a female, I was always told that I had to be paying extra close attention to my surroundings, to watch where I was setting my drinks down at parties, to make sure I always stuck with a group. As my rebellious and ever-so-independent self, I find it hard to stick by these guidelines that are placed in front of me. But, I always remember to do as my parents have said—because of the fear that I’m sure they have for me every time I go out with friends, or out on the town.

As someone who already lives with the everyday challenges of having anxiety, I find it more of an annoyance than anything to have these added fears to tack onto my already fear-struck life. People have let the fears of their surroundings build upon them so much, that many have given up on the idea of trying to make a change and take action to fix these issues. Sure, one small person can’t fix all of the world’s problems, but you can decide to have a positive impact on this world rather than a negative one. We all want to make a change, but it seems no matter how much we try, it just is not making a difference. Are we not trying hard enough?

Take some time to really think about what is going on. The media doesn’t get high ratings if they are covering positive stories all the time, people thrive over anything dramatic and these multi-million dollar companies are well aware of that. Think about how many acts of kindness go unnoticed by these companies, because they aren’t going to get these views which in turn won’t make them money. There are so many things that go unnoticed just because these companies aren’t going to make a profit from the stories. The media business creates turmoil on it’s own and social media just makes the issue even stronger.

Let’s think about this the next time we give the attention to such negative stories. We are instilling this fear upon ourselves because of one story, one action—however a million positive actions happen every day and go unnoticed. Let’s start bringing attention to these actions rather than others and stop living in fear. We are supposed to be united, not divided.

Maybe we just need to be louder than those telling us to live our lives scared of what is happening daily. Fear is driving a direct line through the idea of being united—so, let’s learn to pick ourselves back up and get back to being the land of the free and the home of the brave. Let’s learn to share the good that this world has to offer. Let's share our stories of compassion and love and the random acts of kindness that happen—rather than the stories of rage and anger. It’s a small start, but it’s what we need to be lead into the right direction.