It’s been a while since I posted on here. Not only was I taken off vyvanse, but I also went back to school and work and I really never had the time or motivation to write up a blog. I took a vyvanse today for the first time in months and I feel incredible. Everything is so clear. Everything I’ve needed to do in the past few months has become so goddamn apparent it’s unreal. I have no idea why the doctors took me off of it. I haven’t written music in over 10 years but I cranked out two songs in a matter of an hour just now. My mind is working this well despite the fact that I’ve had a sinus infection and allergies the past few days, which had been making me feel even more cloudy. I’m gonna post what I wrote (the lyrics anyway). It will probably be a while before I can get a group together to record the songs.
Some might say I had better luck than someone born in the inner city. He does not stand a chance compared to me, to make it as far as I can, given our starting resources. That is completely untrue. Based on statistics, that may be true. To those who were born with less, do you want to be a statistic? Or do you want to rise above and create a better environment for your future, your children’s future? We create our own luck. We can work hard to help ourselves and help others, in turn creating a better environment for everyone. We should strive to thrive instead of striving to survive. In the process, do not screw over your fellow Americans while pursuing life, liberty, and equality–unless you want to perpetuate the society we live in. Kennedy asked what we could do for our country. It’s about time we answered.
Though the topics of gun control and mental illness sparked this insight into American society, and thy shed light on a larger issue. That issue is that we as a society are not doing enough for each other. Firearms are not going away. We need to change the way we view them, to not only show the younger generations, but also ourselves how they can be used for sport and for good as a deterrent against evil. We need to remove the stigma around mental illness and accept it as an issue that affects a wide range of people. Ask a stranger how they’re doing. Be that guy in the middle of Times Square with the “free hugs” sign. That’s all it takes, a little compassion and an effort towards showing each other that we are equal and that life is worth living. Even people with schizophrenia can become highly functioning members of society with the right treatment. The problem lies within us. The problem lies within the murderers, thieves, rapists, and other criminals that give in to their own selfish desires for their own benefit. If we can look inside and deny our own selfish desires, we can stop producing these types of people. A few will slip through the cracks; this is inevitable. Nothing will change in our lifetime. If you want real change in your own community, change for the future, there is a way. Follow the Golden Rule and treat others as you expect to be treated. Be a man for others. While these are Christian values, it is not necessarily part of being Christian. It is part of being human.
Surprisingly, my final thought to leave you with comes from Frank Costello, Jack Nicholson’s character in The Departed(2006).
“I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.”
So America, do you want to be a product of your environment, or do you want your environment to be a product of you?
It is time we stop asking ourselves what the government is going to do to stop our problems. Christians describe their God as omniscient, omnipresent and eternal. The Federal government has the NSA, CIA and FBI, along with many other intelligence agencies. They could tear your life apart in weeks and know every major detail about it, down to your shoe size. This sounds pretty close to omniscient to me. Manifestations of the government are everywhere, and close to omnipresent: roads, street lights, and all other infrastructure to start. While the government is not eternal, it has been around for our entire lives and most likely will be until we die. We submit ourselves to its laws and live in fear of them, in fear of incarceration. This sounds a lot like hell to m—anyway. We pay our taxes to this higher power without question. This is one hell of a bold statement, but I am going to say it: The United States Government, to some degree, is no different from any religion. If you believe the people at the top are truly interested in your own best interest, you are out of your mind.
They are all crooked; I do not trust a single politician with a law degree. Would you let a lawyer give you advice on how to handle your retirement fund? To design a model for government health care? To tell you he knows best when it comes to creating jobs? Why do we entrust politicians with these tasks, rather than the financial advisors, doctors or entrepreneurs? And why would a lawyer want a position he is not trained for? Greed. Personal gain. Fame. Sex. Low Self-Esteem. Nobody becomes a politician because they actually want to help people, or do what is in the best interest of the country. They are trying to get elected and re-elected based on what they think people want, then go dick around and argue with each other without actually accomplishing anything important. I do not know how to fix the political system, and there is no immediate answer to fixing it. Changing the way the structure of government and how it operates will take time, but we all need to come together to light the fire our country so desperately needs.
There’s a brief description on how the Christian religion has evolved. Ok, so what? Our government, our society acts in the same way. It all started with the Puritans. The Puritans left England because they were being persecuted for their religious beliefs, and wanted to form their own society where they could practice freely. Great, good for the Puritans. They started the movement to colonize America, yet they also managed to begin a trend that has perpetuated throughout our culture since its inception, when the Mayflower landed on Plymouth Rock. They were intolerant of the Native Americans. They called them savages, and looked down upon them because they did not believe in God. They were different, God forbid. As time went on the overall ideology of the Colonies had changed drastically. They abhorred the institution of the English Monarchy and that the Church of England was intertwined with the government. First, the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, stating that all men were created equal and had equal rights, handed down by God. After the war, they drafted our Constitution. They made sure to include a provision mandating the separation of church and state, so that the government could not use the fear-of-god tactic to extort money from those who believed in him. They believed in freedom, but freedom came with a responsibility, the responsibility to contribute to society and make it a better place for others. The most notable movements throughout history include the abolition of slavery, the women’s rights movement and the black civil rights movement. As mentioned earlier, the gay rights movement has been a current shift in equality that is encouraging. If it can gain momentum, a movement for mental health patients may also be starting, though I doubt it.
There are plenty of discouraging events in recent history that concern me in our quest for equality. Occupy Wall Street? Are you kidding me? I was born with a lot of advantages that most people were not. House in the suburbs, good parents, good upbringing, I had it all. People like my parents are looked down upon sometimes, it seems. Because they have good jobs? Because we have money? My parents were both first generation college graduates for their respective families. My father’s parents were working class; he had nothing handed to him on a silver platter. My mother’s parents were Ukrainian immigrants with no formal education; their family worked their way up from absolutely nothing. They got to where they were from hard work—they never took advantage of anyone. Neither of them have ever been convicted of a crime and I have never seen them break a law. They pay their taxes on time and contribute a lot to society, including two children with the same values they have. They did their part, the rest of us need to do ours.
For those that were born with less, do not be discouraged. This is still America and there are plenty of ways to advance yourself and improve the society we live in. There are people that want to help you, and there are others who want to drag you down. Learn to discern between the two. Our class system, our financial institutions, and our government are all obstacles toward achieving equality. It is not going to change in a day; it is not going to change through legislation. Our President is preaching “Change.” Laws will always be broken as long as they are in place. I think the hippies had a good concept of communal living, to a certain extent. I do not think sitting around smoking weed all day without bathing is the correct way to live. But the idea that we could all live as one, interdependent society where there are no written laws is an incredible concept, though highly unrealistic.
Devout Christians have oftentimes been vilified by the media in recent history. Their opposition to gay rights and abortion have been highly publicized and Christians are viewed, in my opinion, as a stubborn demographic that is set in their ways and needs to evolve with the times. The Westboro Baptist Church is a disgusting example of how religion can divide people, and I feel they are exploited by the media to give an unfair representation of true Christian values. Even the Catholic Church gives an unfair representation of the original message of Jesus Christ. There were thousands of gospels and books that were considered to be included in the Bible, and a small fraction of these scriptures were chosen for the Bible to convey the message Jesus Christ was actually trying to send. Jesus was not God. He was a carpenter who disagreed with the society he lived in. He recognized that all people were created equal, though some were born into better situations than others. He saw the lavish life the high priests live and saw the life the poor did. Organized religion, which at the time was what his society was based around, was nothing more than an institution to make the rich richer and the poor poorer, and Jesus recognized this. The people in Israel were God-fearing people, and they followed laws and paid taxes because God said so, according to those in charge. After Jesus’ death, his message spread through writings and word of mouth, and Christians were persecuted everywhere in the Roman Empire. It was not until Constantine “saw God” that Christianity was became the official religion of the empire. The way history writes it, it seems as if Constantine truly did believe he saw God in some form, though in my opinion it was probably a result of lead poisoning, an alleged factor in the fall of the Roman Empire.
The original message of Christianity was can be summed up in one sentence, one I previously noted: Treat others as you want to be treated. It was not an organized religion, but more a movement of helping others and striving for the same sense of equality. If we all did this, we would be a much more productive society. Unfortunately, someone saw how to exploit the ideas of Christianity into a system where they would profit at the expense of others, and that turned into the Catholic Church. Eventually, true Christians saw that the true message of Christianity was no longer being spread, and this lead to events such as the Protestant Reformation. This also played a part in the Great Schism, though there were many other factors involved in that decision. There are thousands of Christian denominations, many of which continue to exploit people, along with Christian “charities,” many of which collect money in the name of God, yet use less than fifty percent to help the needy. If we can find a way to stop exploiting our peers and instead help them in the same pursuit of happiness, we will be much better off as a society.
Personally, I was raised in a middle-class, Catholic household (how could I possibly have mental issues!?). From a very early age I was taught many Catholic values, and the most important value I still hold is how I treat other people. Though I was occasionally exposed to violence in the media, I have never been a violent person and I have never made a plan to hurt myself or others. I attended a Jesuit high school, and one of the ways we describe ourselves is “men for others.” I use the present tense because this has not changed. It is a value my parents taught me, and they sent me to a Catholic school to make sure it stuck. There are other ways to teach on this value, however this was the route they chose for me. When we say “men for others,” that is not to say we need to sacrifice our own personal gain and advancement for other people. Endorsed by Christians as “The Golden Rule,” treating others as we want to be treated is the best way to help others and ourselves. You do not have to be a Christian, or even a religious person to follow this. If we cannot afford to give to the needy, we should still treat them with respect, dignity and provide help in one way or the other. Truly treating each other like we are all equal is the only way to prevent the Newtown tragedy from repeating itself. We need to unite as a country to stand up to this, and not through legislation. Minorities, women, and gays have almost reached legal equality to white men who for so long have held power in this country. Legal equality does not mean social equality. These demographics still face many challenges.
Equality and happiness has a way of spreading itself. Unfortunately, inequality and disrespect also have a way of spreading themselves, slowing the progress towards true equality that so many have fought and died for. Humans evolved and formed society to help each other because it was in everyone’s best interest, not just one person. However, people are inherently selfish; it is in our DNA. All it takes is one person out of the entire to give in to their selfish tendencies and ruin what we have evolved for millions of years to produce. As cliché as it may seem, we truly are only as strong as our weakest link. If one person breaks away from the best interest of the group, others see this and decide to work for their own best interest as well. This is why it is necessary for us to have authority and why there is government today. Government was created by those who were truly interested in the best interest of others. In ancient and medieval times, human selfishness by those in power is what led to monarchies and other types of government with an all-powerful ruler. Ever since, society has tried various types of government. In the United States, new laws are being put in place at various levels of government on a seemingly daily basis. Clearly, we have not figured it out. Written laws are just that—written. It is going to take something more than words on paper to wake us up.
If we want to have true equality, we need to stop taking advantage of each other. The famous Stanford Prison Experiment is a perfect example of “the power of the situation.” When presented with temptation, we will give in eventually. This temptation to take advantage of someone else and show that we are superior to one another is the evil in this world. The smallest of crimes against one another can have a ripple effect leading to tragic results. Person A steals from Person B. Person B murders Person A for revenge. It escalates into a feud between the families of Persons A and B, and more people are murdered. Other people see this violence; use it to solve their problems. This becomes a problem throughout history. Columbine happens—a feud between the outcasts and their bullies.
Psychology has proven that a person’s personality and behavior is partially determined by the environment that person grows up in and becomes accustomed to. Genetic factors play a role, but let’s ignore those for the time being. For example, Palestinians have a well known hostility for Israel. They are not born with this hostility, they are raised with it and it becomes instilled into them; it becomes part of their identity. Despite American’s sense of being a superior culture to them and everyone (Yes, we all think it, so let’s not kid ourselves), we are still prone to environmental factors playing a major role in the molding of a person’s moral framework throughout their childhood, adolescence, and early adult life.
One of the obvious sources of this is the media. Studies show that the media conditions us to become desensitized to violence and death. Television, Internet, video games and any other imaginable media outlet provide a source to vicariously live the life of a criminal. Some of these outlets show the guys on the good side of crime. Shows like CSI and Law and Order provide some insight into the inner workings of our criminal justice system. Though these are more often than not inaccurate depictions of how the system works, there are plenty of reality shows documenting the investigation and court process truly works, though these shows are seen as less entertaining. Reality is much more mundane than fiction, and this tends to show in the ratings.
On the other side of the gun, there are also a plethora of media outlets depicting the life of a criminal in fiction and reality. Films like Scarface (1983), Goodfellas (1990), and Blow (2001) all showcase how the drug trade and gangs operate, with the latter two films being based on true events. The entire time, viewers know that the drug trafficking and the murder is all illegal. The life of crime is glamorized and seen as enticing despite the fact that people watching it know it is illegal. Why? The rewards. These films do not show any punishment for the criminal’s actions throughout the film. Yes, the main character may be arrested thirty minutes or an hour into the story, but he always gets out of it and goes back to the life of crime. Viewers tend to forget about that minor speed bump in the criminal’s life, and the thing that sticks in their memory is the rewards. They see drugs, money and sex all as an outcome of crime. And who doesn’t want that? Our society has become a place where these three things are highly coveted, and people who watch these films tend to see using violence and firearms as a means to gaining to gaining these three things. For a while these characters live that glamorous life everyone sees, but for some reason the viewer tends to ignore the end. In order of the films mentioned earlier, here is the fate of the main character: dead by gunfire, witness protection, prison. Oh, what a glamorous life.
Just as gun control laws are only a part of the problem, the media is only a fraction of the problem when it comes to an individual’s view on gun use and crime. For a child with no pre-disposition to mental illness and with no developmental conditions, the environment we are raised in provides a very basic moral framework very young age. In many inner city schools, children and adolescents are exposed to firearms at a very early age. Sometimes it might not be a real gun; it might only be a BB gun or a pellet gun, but nevertheless a symbol of violence. They see their peers in school and many outside of school involved with drugs and firearms and see this as normal, no matter what race they are. Freedom to roam the streets outside of school in a close proximity to their classmates and people in the neighborhood furthers this exposure and gives them a sense or normality. Most of the time, these guns are not acquired legally. Changing the gun laws will not solve this issue.
Outside of the inner city areas, the media has a much larger impact on firearm use in suburban areas. Death by bullet in suburban communities are often people in their own homes protecting themselves from intruders, and sometimes they entail premeditated plan which most likely had to do with money. The youth are often influenced more by media than their surroundings, though parenting and a lack of a moral framework has a strong impact. In rural communities, firearms are a way of life to hunt and to protect their livestock from dangerous animals, as well as any intruders who may make an attempt at stealing expensive farm equipment. Unless drugs are involved, they are rarely abused.
As mentioned earlier, the media glamorizes violence. In the case of the Newtown shootings, as well as every other school shooting in recent memory, news networks had coverage of the incident almost instantaneously after it unfolded. Inaccurate details were reported, and people quickly jumped to conclusions about what happened. The shooter’s identity was quickly publicized, though this was also inaccurate initially. People express disgust, saying that they cannot believe someone would do something like this. And people ask why. If everything happens for a reason, what is the reason for something as horrible as this? A Christian will say it is God’s plan. An atheist will say it is a combination of Causality and Chaos Theory and that this outcome was inevitable due to the Laws of Physics. Everyone will explain this tragedy based on some belief they already held and use it as an explanation.
First, to silence the gun policy critics, I present this argument. If we restrict gun control, the black market arms trade will increase. Tax dollars will not only be spent implementing new laws, but also in the criminal justice system as law enforcement will have to use extra resources to crack down on the crime associated with the illegal gun trade. There are millions of guns in circulation legally and illegally, and they are constantly being manufactured both inside and outside the U.S. The violence will continue and gun trade will not decrease. This is America, where money can buy anything, legal or illegal. Our gun control laws are not perfect, but tweaking them is not the answer.
Let’s say we make mental health care more available to those who cannot afford using government funds. In an era where many areas of government are being downsized, this is also going to cost taxpayers money. Psychiatric care is not cheap and we cannot afford to increase our government’s growing budget deficit at any level, whether it is Local, State, or Federal. Unfortunately, as a society we have proved time and time again that there will be people who exploit the system. Feigning mental illness to collect government benefits like Social Security Disability is a prevalent but overlooked problem, mostly because the perception of symptoms that patients describe to their counselor is almost entirely subjective. A patient can say that their mental health interferes with their daily life, but unless that patient is under constant surveillance a doctor cannot know if he is telling the truth. This also makes the system even more inefficient than it already is. Abusers of the system use up its resources, preventing people who are truly in need of help from receiving it. This problem will also be compounded by the inefficiencies of the bureaucracy that is our government. This is not a burden the taxpayers should have to face.
The politically charged idea that the government can prevent the tragedy in Newtown from being repeated is a perfect example how the ideology of the American people has changed since times as recently as the 1960s. In John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, he famously gave the American people something to think about. He said:
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”
Once again, almost 42 years and 9 presidents later, Americans need to unite and tackle this problem together. Let’s not divide ourselves because of our political ideologies. The issue at hand is much bigger than the government. Changing gun laws, fixing the mental health system, and any other changes in legislation are nothing more than ideas on paper that would take an unbelievably long and drawn out process to implement. Democrats will waste time drawing up bills that Republicans will vehemently oppose without any desire to reach a middle ground. Let’s not leave this up to them. Let’s change things on our own, through a moral code we as a society can agree on, rather than a legal code that is bound to be broken.
In wake of the recent tragedies that have shocked our nation, I pose a question of opinion for the general public:
Person A suffers from a combination of mood and personality disorders and has been prescribed anti-depressants. He has received several possible diagnoses from multiple Psychiatrists. The mood disorders Person A may suffer from include Dysthymic Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Manic Depression (Bi-Polar II), and Major Depression. The personality disorders he may suffer from are: Avoident, Borderline, and Dependent. Because of these conditions, he was recently referred to a partial hospitalization program for a more specific diagnosis and comprehensive treatment of these conditions. His friends and family would describe person A as an introvert, though he is seen has highly intelligent. He owns a gun.
Person B was raised in a Catholic family and attended Catholic schools his entire life and continued Catholic education when he attended college. He majored in Chemistry, and plans on going to graduate school for Neuroscience. He enjoys playing hockey in his spare time and has a close knit group of friends and family is very important to him. His grades are not perfect, but he has done his best in school. He has never been convicted of any crimes and is often seen as a passive person who is always looking out for others.
Based on these descriptions, which person do you think is more likely to commit a violent crime?
Trick question. They are the same person. That person is me, a 21 year old male attending college in Upstate New York. For those of you that this raises concerns with, the gun I own is an air rifle I bought for thirty dollars at Wal-Mart and is lethal only to birds.
The descriptions of two seemingly different people show how people can jump to conclusions based what details are provided or omitted. The recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut has sparked numerous debates about how to prevent this tragedy from repeating itself. Gun control and mental health awareness are the two biggest topics being discussed right now. The problem is not firearm availability and the problem is not the treatment of mental illness, it is much larger. If we could have fixed human nature through government policies and programs, we would have done so by now. The problem with this whole issue is a complete loss of the concept of morality. I do not think Adam Lanza was inherently immoral or amoral. I do not think his actions were entirely a manifestation of mental illness. This tragic event that occurred in Newtown is a product of the evolution of societal nature and what our culture views as acceptable.
Ah, the internet, a place where I can anonymously post about how I view the world and receive criticism and sometimes hatred from others simply because they feel differently. Don’t spread hate. Telling me how stupid I am for writing certain things doesn’t make me any smarter or better off than I was before. I am open to criticism in any subject on which I write about. If my facts are wrong, tell me. I don’t cite because I use the knowledge I have in my head, and sometimes what I write is inaccurate Hopefully, that’s where the reader comes in. These posts are not research based; they are my attempt at explaining this experience that is consciousness.
manic4america 