By Terrance Thornton | Point of View
Whoever you are, wherever you are, please understand that no matter what your issue is, what has happened to you or what was done to you — hurting others does nothing but perpetuate the hate and distress you feel into the world around you.
Is that hate and feeling inside that drives you to contemplation of creating a mass-casualty event? I know you really don’t want that, perhaps you just want to be heard, be hugged or be seen the way you want to.
I don’t know you and you don’t know me, but at the end of the day we are all in this together and please know good people do exist — and they want to help.
Look for the good in the world, it is all around us.
Some of us who want to help do so, just so they can have a function. I think of these people as civil servants, mental health professionals and folks in the health care arena.
There is help for you.
And I understand that you were treated poorly perhaps by an institution, an employer, your family or a loved one. I want you to know that myself and many I know agree there is an issue around access in this country to legitimate mental health services that do not revolve around psychotropic drugs.
Honestly, I get it and so do many others.
We all can access firearms, alcohol and debauchery with a click of button and this has left us constantly seeking the next stimulant. But what is most important is that on the other side of that coin is there are mental health services, community advocates and journalists just like myself just waiting to help. Seriously, there are phone numbers you can call and folks are just there waiting to hear from you.
Weird thing is? They want to hear from you.
I just did an Google search of ‘national mental health services’ and guess what? There is an organization coined the ‘Substance Abuse and Mental Health Network,’ which has a 24-hour, 7-days a week hotline ready to help. Call them and I bet they can be an initial point of contact and no mater where you are in the United States of America they can find you help no matter your location. This connectivity in our country is one of our best strengths and may help to remind we are all in this together as one American people.
Making things better will help serve you and your being but it will also help to build up and educate those ignorant to the plight you are living every day. Be a pioneer for those who are not as strong as you are, who are not as capable as you are to affect positive change in you community.
That is my challenge to you.
To the power-brokers, the movers and shakers and the politicians politicking:
If you you have an opinion that matters: It is time now for us to come together as a country, as a community and as an American people to stop this nonsensical evil from perpetuating itself through ignorance.
Furthermore, this is not a policy issue that local, state and federal government are capable of solving. This is an issue that we as a community, an American community need to address with love first — not empty soundbites and lackadaisical policy shaped by some bizarre sense of ‘give and take’ within legislature hallways across our great country.
If there is one soundbite to take from this: Do better. We must save ourselves because superheroes do not exist.