Further Damaged

Something I wrote some time ago.


------

Further Damaged

There is sickness in us that should not exist.

            It is not anything of nature; not biologic, not following any

                        Normal vector of pathology, for it is within the thoughts and

                        Communications in which we engage daily. There may have

            Been a time when we, as a society, would be shocked at words

Coming from those who should know better.

In youth, we would get such news and information

            At a slower pace. Time and innovation have made it so we

                        Almost get the story within seconds of the happenings. This

                        Does not mean that all is doom, though the greater the horror,

            The greater the coverage. We are treated to footage that no

Newsroom would be able to gather until after the fact.

Why are we so drawn to the horrific? The is more than

            Just something on the news. The dismay I feel when I hear

                        A supposed leader speak words that betray his true mentality

                        Before a crowd of sycophants who eagerly hang on every sentence

            Without giving thought to the after effects. Tacit approval

Leading to tragedy. This isn’t always the case, yet the other

Constant is even worse: inaction. The cycle continues

            And a blood-soaked circle remains unbroken. Social media

                        Becomes another battleground for an already damaged society

                        Which fractures wider with every post and tweet that shows on

            The monitor or smart phone screen. Screeds and flame wars

Explode from nameless desktop warriors

Who hurl vitriol with the same ferocity as a

            Round from a rifle. We are painfully aware when words

                        Become actual rounds, and the cost becomes lives of the

                        Innocent. Mourning, speculation, accusation, empty words

            From those in power and random folk, endless coverage

On the TV. It becomes inescapable, and for some

It furthers the damage that is unseen, and for

            Others it creates new damage from the overflow of the

                        Negative information. The depression grows deeper, the

                        Addiction becomes more wanted, anything to escape this

            Angry, hateful, nonsensical disease that is drowning

Us one incident at a time. It needs to stop.

I am not alone. I try to cope day by day, as

            Many of us do. The sickness grows and damages us

                        With each incidents, with each call of thoughts and

                        Prayers which never will be answered, with each

            Rally that draws the vessels of the disease together

To perpetuate hatred, we fall deeper into

An abyss of depression, anxiety, substances, suicide.

            This should not be. We should not be suffering so.

                        What can be done? What is the answer? Many offer options,

                        But the past repeats, and the status quo is maintained.

            It will happen again. We will suffer again. Nothing will change

Again…