I am weary. Weary of watching all the news on television, affirming in all of their words, what a terrible state our country is in. I am tired of hearing about kids killing, and harming other kids, and then taking their own lives. How did those lives get to be so awful, that the only alternative is to end it all, taking out as many others as possible before they do? What can be going on in the mind of a fourteen year old to make him want to kill and hurt someone? That's what's going on around the country, and that is what happened here, in my own backyard, yesterday. They say the kid had a troubled home life. They say that he had mental issues, and was on medication. They say that he was beaten up at school, and made fun of, and that he had been suspended from school the day before he went back and did his dirty deed. After all the shooting, he went to another floor, and there, looking out of the window, he had a clear view of the police vehicles arriving, and that's when he took his own life. Fourteen years old. What has happened to our children? What have we done to them? I know that there are some who will think that my sympathy is misplaced, that I should be feeling sorry for the victims. I do. But my heart breaks for this young man, who seemingly, felt that he had nothing to live for, and was so full of anger that he could no longer contain it. Why? That is what I want to know. Why have people become so self-absorbed that they can't give their children a good foundation, some kind of direction in life? I realize that it is sometimes neccessary for both parents to work, and that sometimes, there is only one parent, and most of the time that parent is the mother, but I have known families like that, and they still made time for their children, and by example, taught them values, and self-worth. I know how hard it is when you are a single parent, and trying to keep food on the table, and a roof overhead. I've been there, and I know that it is not an easy task. There was a time when we all cared about our neighbors, about each other. Now, it seems that we feel it is just easier to look the other way. Surely, there must have been someone, somewhere, who could have seen this coming. According to the news reports, the police had gone to the home just the night before because of an incident involving an older brother who had just gotten out of prison. Today, they arrested him. They had been called to the home at least one other time, when the fourteen year old was fighting with the mother. It is hard to place blame here. Who knows what hardship she was going through--the obstacles she was trying to overcome? I don't know the answers. I only know that my heart goes out to all involved. I wish we could all get back to the time when we cared for ourselves, and each other. When, if we saw someone in need, or hurting, we tried to help. A time when our own homes were our havens, our streets were safe, and life had value. The hue and cry now is, "Take back our streets, take back our town," but I'm afraid it's a little too late now--and it's falling on deaf ears.
