Our Society: Sinking to Tragic Depths

I just can’t believe anymore the pathetic situation in our American homes as well as the depths to which the movie and television industry has fallen. It started out as the Harvey Weinstein scandal and kept spreading. Daily new allegations of sexual abuse, rape and molestation, etc. make the news. It seems as if there is no limit to the men and women involved. This depraved activity seems to have been going on for years. Apparently, Bill Cosby was not the exception but more the norm.

Actor Anthony Rapp accused Kevin Spacey of making a sexual advance toward him while they were working on Broadway in 1986. James Toback, screen writer and director, was accused by multiple women of sexual harassment. Names like actor Ben Affleck and even the 41st president of the United States now surface as having been willing participants toward sexual advances on both men and women. The allegations keep coming. One has to wonder how bad our society has dropped.

Why would a woman fatally shoot her young daughters? Sarah Henderson of Texas recently shot both her daughters ages 5 and 7. The police are baffled by the lack of any credible motive. We are shocked whenever we hear about a parent taking the life of their child, but what is even more shocking is that this type of crime is not uncommon. It occurs over 500 times a year in the United States.

Why would a man open fire on a crowd of 22,000 people attending a concert killing 58 and wounding over 500 people? Stephen Paddock was a retired and twice divorced accountant with no known children. It makes absolutely no sense.

Why would a man run down the platform near a subway and push an absolute stranger in front of a train? But that is exactly what happened when Mr. Naeem Davis pushed Mr. Han onto the train tracks in a New York subway.

The headlines seem endless. They shock even the most callous person. Two shot, one killed in early morning Staten Island fight, Bigot who tossed mystery liquid at teen’s face arrested. What is so tragic is, in most cases, there is no motive or at least a motive that we can understand. Guns permeate our society. It has been estimated that there is a gun for every man, woman, and child in the United States. This puts the number at roughly 300 million guns. Some estimates put more guns on the street than people. Gun advocates claim more guns drive crime down. Yet, the more guns on the street can drive up crime committed with guns. There seems to be no end.

Just think about where we are—as a country…

• We live in an era where too many disagreements are settled violently.
• We live in an era where sexual activity is unrestrained and the participants are not responsible for their actions regardless of when or where they occur.
• We live in an era where marriages, even if they exist, no longer last more than a few years.
• We live in an era where children are in more danger, not from society, but from their birth parents.
• And we live in an era where safety on our streets has become a hit-or-miss situation.

Is there any answer? We seem to be heading down a path toward self-destruction as a society. Senseless crimes are escalating. Terrorist activities seems almost impossible to stop. After all, how can any governmental authority stop cars from driving down sidewalks and killing innocent people? Sadly, some professional athletes refuse to stand during our national anthem in protest for their causes. In the end, all we can do is pray that as a country we will soon come to our senses and return to the loyalty that once made the United States a great country and a great place to raise our children.