Our country has changed so much since the 60s. When tragedy struck our nation with the assassinations of President Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., we mourned as a nation. Our grief and the feelings of living in a world that we did not understand was shared by most. Neighbors and family came together to try and make sense of the senseless.
When 9/11 happened, we grieved for a moment, then immediately sought revenge. An enemy was chosen: the Muslim people. Sides were taken. Grief and disbelief were put on a burner beside revenge and hatred. People began to live in fear of a group. Those who didnt fear the Muslim population became the enemy also.
With every public gun massacre, we are not allowed public grief without retribution from NRA supporters. Trying to make sense of the tragedies and to bring our minds to a place where we can see an end to these acts isnt allowed to happen because sides are immediately taken.
What happened in the 60s allowed the people in our country to grieve as a whole. We knew that our grief was understood and that compassion and empathy would be shown.
Now we have to take our grief for senseless acts and hide it away for fear of reprisal.
This has an effect on our personal lives. That fear of judgment and lack of compassion for our feelings and a fear of retaliation for the way that we feel has turned us into a population of people who isolate themselves despite what they are going through. This isolation creates the feeling inside of us that no one else is going through or has gone through what we are experiencing. It creates alienation from the very people who would offer comfort and hope if they could see what we are going through.
Social media seems like a way to battle this alienation.
It allows families to stay in contact and long-distance friendships to be kept. Its a great way to meet people who have similar interests and share information and ideas. However, it can also be a way to be callous, cold-hearted, indifferent, and intolerant to the experiences of others. It takes a great deal of strength to admit that depression, anxiety, or grief has overtaken your life, especially in times when we have become so used to staying inside of our own little circle. To reach out and be chided or condescended to is to add to the suffering of another.
Remember that the person behind the screen is a human, just like you. Be kind. It doesnt hurt. Be tolerant. Understand that what that person is going through comes from a lifetime of their experiences, not yours. Be thoughtful with your responses to someone who is reaching out or who is grieving, lonely, anxious, depressed or ill. Please remember that. Your kindness matters most.
