Only a State of Mind

In a world marked by confusion, discord, ignorance, hate and greed, too many are caught in a tailspin where there is no black or white, only the gray area in-between. The sociological impact of all this has transformed our society. A society today made up where many individuals phycological makeup goes against the laws of nature. And at the same time our society seems to be completely incapable of preventing the willful carnage which keeps happening in and around our nation. The connectivity is quite apparent considering the recent atrocity in Nashville.

The complexity of all this has been manifested by cultural shifts regarding gender roles, mental health issues which are never assessed and political polarization that has stymied every effort to combat the horrific massacre of innocent children and adults. The accountability lies within ourselves. Do we continue to allow society to accept gender remodification, as a normal process of human development or do we acknowledge that once we are born, an individual’s gender has been predetermined? And can society rid the stigma attached to individuals who do not conform to the traditional gender roles?

There are some who say gender roles are determined by the brain and their DNA. There could be hidden factors laying dormant that somehow emerges later in life which triggers one’s gender identity to shift. For the past 40 years more individuals have been identified as transgender, gay or lesbian. This has popularized some of the ethical, medical and social problems faced by those whose bodies do not fit the idea of themselves. In cultures all around the world society has had gender roles set for both sexes. The way societies have progressed has had an enormous impact on the cultural changes which have promoted more individuals to conform to a different gender identity. The gay, lesbian, and transgender identities have all become more common just within the past few decades.

The perplexing developments of the past 40 or so years where traditional male and female roles have been gradually.  shall we say shaken up, has caused confusion, bewilderment, and anxiety for our youth. Which as they get older, leads to more mental health issues, persecution and isolation. Society has made progress in accepting the non-conformity of gender roles for males and females. But the persecution, the isolation, and mental health issues still affect many individuals whose gender becomes redefined.

The mayhem in Nashville could be a result of past persecution leading to aggressive retaliation and the failure of government in allowing individuals to have access to weapons that have no place in a civil society. Other causes which trigger one to resort to violence is when they are confronted with feelings of disappointment, frustration, and anger as they interact with agencies, co-workers, family, other students and even commuters as in the case of road rage. 

With all the challenges facing many of our youth and adults today, this has affected society, in many cases with  devastating consequences. Compounding this has been the failure of government to institute a ban on semi-automatic  and fully automatic weapons. Many legislators and many gun touting Americans have misconstrued the 2nd  Amendment.to their own advantage in owning semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons. And when an individual who has access to these weapons. like in Nashville, Parkland and so many other shooting incidents, travesties have occurred resulting in continuing mayhem..

When society is not tolerant toward individuals who are of a different culture, race, religion, or sexual orientation, this  opens the door for these individuals to react in such a way as what happened in Nashville when they are ostracized or persecuted.  And if we had enacted the technology for gun ownership back 30 years ago, the staggering number of innocent victims of gun violence would have been greatly diminished.