Let the record show that last week has been the worst in world history.

For anyone who hasn't watched any news since last Wednesday, here's what you've missed: Racial tensions at Missouri University escalated on Tuesday and brought a subject that shouldn't still need to be discussed back into the public spotlight; on Thursday, at least forty people were killed, and over 230 were wounded when suicide bombers attacked Beirut; on Friday, in the biggest terrorist attack on European soil since the 2004 Madrid bombings, Paris was attacked, leaving over 120 killed and over 350 injured in five different areas in the city, including the Bataclan concert hall, where Eagles of Death Metal were playing; a tsunami hit Japan after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake; and a 4.3 magnitude earthquake hit Mexico the same day.

This could potentially lead anyone reading to ask several questions: What is the world coming to? Why is the world turning against us like this? What does this level of violence against other human beings say about us as a race? Is there something wrong with the way we cover tragedies like these? Is there something wrong with us?

The answers aren't exactly clear, especially on the first question. Depending on who you talk to,there are many factors to blame: naive liberals that are taking all our guns, out-of-touch Republicans that are taking all our money, Muslims that are killing everyone, or the wrath of an angry God. Whatever the excuse, it says a lot about us, such as we are very quick to blame others.

Donald Trump was decent enough to wait a whole day before stating his opinion that if people had had guns, then "it would be a much, much different situation." If you looked at the comments section of any article about what President Obama had to say about the attacks, most of the comments you'll find are paranoid calls for turning away the Syrian refugees and claiming that Obama is only looking out for the "terrorist" Muslims of the country. Some critics are now attacking the Mizzou protestors for accusing the media of shifting the focus away from the terrorism at Missouri University amid the Paris attacks. "All the college students protesting around the U.S. need to find their way to a TV station and watch what's happening in Paris," read one tweet

Another way we solve our problems is, once again in the eloquent worlds of Donald Trump, to "bomb the shit" out of others. On Sunday, French fighter jets dropped twenty bombs over the Syrian city of Raqqa, the ISIS-claimed capital of the extremist terrorist group. But perhaps the most popular solution we use is ignorance; while everyone was changing their profile pictures on social media to the French flag and media on both sides was providing nonstop information about the shootings in Paris, I had to comb through news websites to look for any information about the terrorism in Beirut, or the natural disasters in Japan and Mexico. Putting these three solutions I have placed here together, what, then, does it say about us as human beings that those are the two most popular forms of problem-solving when it comes to tragedies like this?

Here's an idea: instead of pointing fingers, why don't we start by looking at what we can do to make these situations better? Instead of dropping more bombs, why don't we see what else we can do to keep the situation civil? Instead of putting one tragedy on a higher pedestal than another, why don't we treat all tragedies equally? Instead of ridiculing the protestors championing a certain cause, why not take them seriously?

It is a natural reaction as a human being to want to help others during times of crisis, but it seems that we've forgotten that. Let me take this time to implore anyone reading this right now to please not forget. There are people out there who need help, any help at all, and there are ways you can. You can donate to Doctors Without Borders and the French Red Cross, you can hold a rally at your college and stand in solidarity with Missouri like we did at Purchase, you can do so many positive things to address the problems facing the world today instead of misplacing blame.

The world is in bad shape right now, as the events that took place last week can attest. But it is up to everyone to stay calm and rational, and most importantly, stay together in times of crisis. The best way to stay rational is, of course, to stay informed. Listen to the news, read the papers, watch what's going on around you. And always be kind to one another. There's already enough hate in the world; trying peace for a change could actually help push the world spinning back in the right direction.