This is a human being problem. We’ve reached a crisis in the American society that has never been seen before. The biggest questions are why, and can we fix it?
Last week was a horrible week in our country for violence. The death of Charlie Kirk and the videos that circulated afterwards were heartbreaking. I don’t care what side of the aisle you are on. Charlie was a person, a father, a husband, etc.
The same day we had another school shooting, this time in Colorado. Again, parents sent their students to school not knowing if they would come home.
This is a problem. One that isn’t going away.
One aspect to the change in our county is the disappearance of “third places.” Third places are those that are not work/ school and home. Our home would be our first place. School or work depending on your age would be your second place. The third place refers to all those places in between. The places we hang out with the chance to interact with acquaintances or strangers. The places where we expand our sense of self that can open us up to hear other viewpoints. Like sending your kid to school for the first time, we learn we are not the only ones in our world.
The scary part is, according to Business Insider, Americans used to typically spend 6.5 hours a week with friends. In the last five years, that has dropped by 37%. That means we’re spending about four hours a week outside of our home/ work.
This lack of time with others more than likely means we spend more and more time online. A scary fact about online is you can find anything to tell you what you think is right is just that — right. And everyone else is wrong.
Social media and online presence allow us to make rude and inappropriate comments because we can hide behind our computer.
It allows us to find groups that feed into anything we say. While it is great to connect with people that share the same hobbies, likes, etc. These can be extreme as well.
Let’s say you have decided you think dandelions are the best food out there, that to be truly healthy, you should eat nothing but dandelions. While your doctor might disagree with you, you are allowed to do so.
A quick Google search — and I found multiple articles to back up my claim — dandelions are one of the healthiest foods on the planet. I even found forums and discussion groups on social media I could join that gave me recipes, and many opinions as to why they are the best.
Now, the problem lies in when I decide that because I believe this, and maybe my neighbor eats other foods, this can only mean one thing: they are wrong.
Because I can isolate myself to only work at home, I can allow myself to have no interaction with said neighbor. The only thing I am judging them on is the fact that they do not believe the same as me. And in today’s society, there is only one option, I must now hate them.
Of course, this is an extreme. One, I eat everything. Two, my entire world is interacting with others. The point is that as a society, we are no longer trying to hear, learn from or listen to anyone else, especially if they don’t have the exact same views as we do.
We need to do better — not better as politicians or as one political party or another. We need to do better as human beings. We need to listen to others. We need to try to learn and hear people out. We do not need to agree with everyone we come in contact with or hear online, but we need to respect them as a fellow human being.
I challenge you this week to have one conversation with someone outside your work or home. Talk to someone at a ballgame. Visit with the person in line behind you at the grocery store. Say “hello” to the other person pumping gas at the gas station.
The point is simple: We are all human, despite everything else. And all human beings need to be treated with respect and care. We are better than we have acted as a society lately.
