Letter to the editor: Reader identifies ‘the blunder of society’

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To the editor:

This is my opinion based on the truths that I have seen, experienced, committed and learned from. I understand that what I am writing will offend many. My response? Good! You should be offended. I am. At this point in time, the more people I offend, the happier I will be.

Not too long ago, I decided that I was going to pick a fight with the schools, the education system, social media and government in the hopes that an all-out war would break out. Bullying, teachers who no longer teach, trolls who believe that their nastiness should extend to someone else, the educational system our children are now following — these and so many other things are staggering, despicable and unacceptable.

As I sat, writing out my thoughts and compiling all of the factual evidence that I could, I realized that my efforts would be completely and utterly vain, and my attempts to make actual change would be futile. The reason for this is quite simple: society and the self-destructive patterns we have become so comfortable with.

I hate to break this to you, but you are an addict. Everyone in society is. We are addicted to pride, material possession, information that we are not entitled to, damning someone before any factual proof is presented, social media, electronics, television, attempting to prove that we are better than the person standing beside us.

Addiction, as any addict (active or in recovery) will admit, is damn near impossible to overcome. However, it can be overcome. It is not too late for us to go into rehabilitation and begin to fix ourselves.

What is the blunder of society? Let me tell you what it isn’t: it isn’t weapons or the evil within the heart of every living animal on this planet or the destruction of our planet by humans or any external locus.

The blunder of society is quite simple: The indifference of good people. Let me repeat that. The blunder of society is the indifference of good people. I invite you to reread the previous sentence as many times as necessary to let it sink in. I know that, for me, this realization was one hell of a slap to the face.

We, society, are too quick to point the finger at someone else, too quick to judge another human being, to record a criminal act rather than try to interfere to protect the victim. Too often we wear rose-colored glasses that distort our vision of the world around us. Too often we decide that paying attention to social media is more important than paying attention to our children. Too often turn a blind eye to those who are, quite obviously, in need of help.

We are all guilty of this. We have taken “treat others the way that you want to be treated” and managed to pervert it to mean “treat others the way that they treat us.” How does this achieve anything?

As long as we are content to squabble among ourselves, judge lives that we have absolutely no control over, turn crime into entertainment, try to bury history so that we are not offended by it, place blame on guns for shootings, place blame on the homeless, place blame on others and treat others the way they have treated us, there will be no permanent change to how things are.

Until we realize that ignoring history means that we are bound to repeat it, that we are the change needed in this world, that we cannot compare ourselves to any other human being to have ever existed but ourselves, that we must treat others the way that we want to be treated — all we will be doing is trying to fix a bullet hole with a band-aid.

Have I thoroughly offended you? I sure hope so. The only reason humans feel offended by anything is because the proverbial shoe fits. I can absolutely guarantee that none of you have the right to be angry with me. The only person that you can be angry with is the person staring back at you when you look into a mirror.

I am the problem. I am aware of this and am doing what I can to change me. I cannot speak for anyone but me, but I want to bring society to a better starting point for generations to come.

You are the problem. Are you brave enough to dissect yourself and courageous enough to make changes to your behaviors and actions? I really hope so because I cannot change the world on my own.

Kara M. Countryman
Perry

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