The Human Condition, Part Two

I read the news.
A lot.
I try to keep up to date on what is happening through the world, the country, the state, the city. I like to be informed.
When I find things that upset me I do one of two things. Either let it engulf my soul entirely, or stop reading about it because I really just don't want to be sad about things.
Seems like some rather extreme behaviors, but... flawed coping mechanisms.
I'll be honest- I have not followed every detail of what's been happening in Ferguson, Missouri, over the last few months. I've picked up quite a bit of it though. It's brought to light concerns of police brutality, of racially motivated shootings, but also how quickly and irrationally we react to believe that either party was completely without fault. From the evidence I've seen, I believe that the right decision has been made. A loss of a life is tragic, regardless.
Now, I don't want to dwell on the case or argue my point. Really, what disturbs me so much about this... is how we've chosen to respond.
Riots.
Not just in Missouri, but all over the country.
We are entitled to our opinions,
we are entitled to be upset about things.
But no one is entitled under any circumstance to destroy simply because they are upset.
I'll be frank.
The idiots that are protesting are burning the city to the ground. And yes, I did say idiots. Why? I don't typically like to label people, but from what I've heard, that's the best word I can use to describe them. Lighting everything they can on fire, looting what isn't burned, and saying it is all in the name of justice for Michael Brown.
Since when was the answer to violence MORE violence?
Sadly, it seems it always has been.
Instead of trying to make this world a better place, we all seem to be set on destroying it.
I don't think anyone seems to realize the stupidity and hypocrisy behind their actions. They feel an innocent life has been taken by a police officer that overstep his boundaries and committed a crime himself. And so, as a consequence for not seeing the result they wanted, they attacked innocent people as well. Those stores you looted? That was someone's life savings, their investment, their lively-hood. The cars you burned? That hurt someone too. The city you are set on burning to the ground? That was yours.
Open your eyes.
You want a solution? Stop contributing to the problem.

The Human Condition

This is one of those posts that probably won't be happy.

It might be a little nagging.

Something has caught my attention, and when that happens I obsess over it like it might be a life or death situation.

I'm fairly certain that my inability to cope with certain things led to my hair falling out.

It's growing back now, but I need to not give it a reason to continue making me bald.

But, here we go.

I had a dear friend lose her brother-in-law a few days ago. It was covered by several news organizations because of the situation he and his family were in.

Of course the articles about Isaac and his family were posted on Facebook, and as I was reading through the kind wonderful things people were saying, the support, the love, I ran across a comment that made me sick.

Why is this news? I mean, it's sad what they're going through, but I've never heard of him.

Really?

It's "news" because his family needs help, and his situation wasn't common. Why does someone need to be widely known to be considered important enough to be "news"? 

And that got me thinking.

I started to thing about the human condition and where we are now. 

How selfish we are.

How little we care about others.

And it's a problem.

I've noticed that so many have stopped recognizing others as even being on the same level as themselves.

We focus so much on ourselves that we seem to forget the existence of others. I mean, we're aware that there are other people on this earth but how are they seen? As obstacles on our path to get what we want? As problems that we just have to deal with for a few hours, and then we'll be back on our way to whatever success we're trying to get?

I love this time of year. I love that everyone seems to focus more on what we have and what we should be thankful for. All the blessings we have and that we have more than we need. And then Christmas rolls around and we have the chance to give, to serve, to love people that sometimes, unfortunately, we'd ignore or look down on.

But then it stops. And we're right back to the selfish, demeaning society we are.

Everyone talks about the world getting worse and worse, but whose fault is that? 

It's ours.

We can't control everyone in this world. We can't stop everyone from doing bad things. But we can control ourselves. It's amazing the difference we can make. 

But it has to start here. With us. 

If everyone just

STOPPED

being selfish and being concerned about only themselves

then just imagine what this world could be.