I have tried many times now to comprehend the Connecticut shooting and understand it well enough to put those thoughts into words. Frustration has prevented me from doing so. I will try my hardest to refrain from metaphors in this post but please excuse me if I slip. We have been trained our entire lives to tie so much emotion to everything that it makes it damn near impossible to actually comprehend the actual event in a logical manner. My frustration following the shooting was mostly due to people’s reactions to the incident. It was yet another thing that I watched tear my country apart. Everyone had an opinion. Everyone thought they knew what was best. And when it came to the actual shooter, words such as “evil” and “crazy” were thrown around without any authority. We dehumanize these killers and therefore make it impossible to see the potential for murder among ourselves. Continue reading Treating the problem
Tag Archives: video games
Amusement is a distraction
When on the Appalachian Trail a couple years ago, I could not pinpoint exactly why boredom, despite the monotony of everyday life alone in the woods, never overcame me. In one of the simplest points of my life, filled with absolutely no form of entertainment, I was most content. After the first several weeks, I searched for why this was the case. I wondered why I could be so happy with so little, so content with nothing. I was working toward a goal that was not graspable and there was no competition. Often I was in excruciating situations with nothing driving me to proceed. There were no ties to the trail other than a discovery I never could have imagined would come so boldly: absolute love and peace.