Sunday, February 25, 2018

Is America Ready to Face the Real Smoking Gun?

Watching Keanu Reeves last week in the motion picture, "John Wick,” reminded me of my younger years watching Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, and Chuck Norris movies. I can still remember the vigilante-like adrenaline I felt surging through me as I walked out of the theatre...It was so palpable it made me want to kick something in the parking lot. In a few hours the feeling would wear off but I wonder now, if I wasn't a balanced young woman in her right mind, would I have been capable of violence? Picking a fight? Perhaps bullying? The answer, I believe, is a resounding, "Yes!" After years of research and experience, I've discovered that any combination of past trauma, emotional and mental stress, hormonal and/or biochemical imbalance, and thoughts of helplessness (that turn into anger) is what it takes to create "the perfect storm" in any human being. Whether someone is led to hurt themselves or another, it still originates from what is transpiring in the delicate relationship between the mind and the body.

This recent school shooting energized us, but the truth is, we have a lot more than that to be riled up about. The FBI claims that in 2016, there were an estimated 1,248,185 violent crimes. Other agencies report that in a year, over 321,000 tweens, teens, and adults are the victims of rape and sexual assault, and approximately 1,000 American women (and more worldwide) are murdered by a current or ex-male partner. Another sobering stat: One in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before they turn 18 years old with 34% of their assailants being family members. And the list of violent crimes doesn’t stop there. Without taking away the attention or time we are bringing to guns (and the need to regulate ownership), I'm going to suggest we take the onus off of them as it pertains to motive and cause. There is a much bigger issue we all need to address and that is mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual imbalance.

What does it take to raise a healthy, loving, law-abiding citizen? That's actually an easy question to answer, so we really should be asking, "What does it take to raise an abuser? A killer? An assailant?" We know this answer too, but are we willing to do something about it? Will money and greed keep driving our need to push violence as amusement? Will we continue to allow unfair divorce proceedings to leave kids without one of their parents, most especially their dads? Worse yet, will the over 35% of us going through divorce continue to fight and hate our way through it? Are we going to continue to ignore the potential negative manipulation that food, sugar, pesticides, chemicals, immunizations, and legalized drugs has on our children’s minds and bodies? Are we finally going to analyze how the school environment, curriculum, and stress we put them under is affecting their psyche and physical state of being? Will we keep putting our heads in the sand about what seeing us divided as a nation is doing to instigate their fear about their future? And generational poverty...Will anyone ever be willing to speak frankly without the political left or right slant about one of our saddest stats here in America?

We can initiate new gun laws but that will not rid us of the reasons why someone wants to kill or hurt people. In fact, my fear is that we pass laws, say our hoorays for a job well done, and then never fervently address the real instigators of violent behavior because too many people would have to take too much responsibility for what we aren't doing to help eradicate them. There are many intelligent, wellness-minded people, though, that will say there are easy strategies, and simple--sometimes free, sometimes low-cost--habits and programs we can adopt for our children (from birth on) in our homes, neighborhoods, schools, and states that will prevent crime, addiction, bullying, sickness, disease, mental disorders, drug and alcohol use, and more. They include understanding how we communicate through energy and how love and personal responsibility can promote peace and happiness. These people would suggest changing our curriculum to include more physical and mental exercises that will keep kids balanced and more motivated to live clean and healthy lives. Some new habits would involve daily meditation, self-administered trauma and anti-anxiety therapy, and quite a few other techniques they can use their entire lives to help them deal with the stress that just living life creates. Eventually, the food and drinks we allow them to eat and bring to school would need to be addressed, because it is undeniable: The chemistry put into the body changes the chemistry of the body.

All of this would take our legislators, teachers, police, school administrators, parents, doctors, therapists, and so many more in a position of power to be open-minded, listening, and then willing to move forward together to create positive change. And we know that some are, but we need more. Perhaps so many people, most especially those that are in a position to make decisions, are so stuck doing what they believe is right without taking into account that it is not working! The research is in though. We know more about our intrinsic gifts and how to use them, yet we are still dragging our feet when it comes to changing what we can change and that is irrespective of what government administration--democratic or republican--is in power. I want to know why. I want to ask the powers that be, “When will our kids learn about quantum science? Are they being taught that they are energetic, self-healing beings with hearts and minds so powerful there is nothing that can compare to them in the entire universe?” I want decision makers to give me plausible reasons why billions are being spent dealing with our issues after they cause devastation while so little is being spent on preventing them. Lastly, and most importantly, "Why is everyone so afraid of spirituality? What do we think is going to happen if we start teaching our kids about love?”

We know we are more than our bodies; science has proven that. It isn't that hard to be mindful and loving, and it's incredibly easy to teach it to our children. Why, then, are we making it so damn hard?