In America, we have an epidemic. It is not normal to hear about children murdering their classmates, in large numbers. Some factors may include bullying, side effects of prescription medication or technology’s toll on society. Regardless of the cause, school shootings are a major problem in our modern world, with no end in sight, America grows ever restless in search of a solution.
In the aftermath of a school shooting, people are left looking for answers. All too often, bullying is the root of the problem. Bullying leads people to rash actions. When left frustrated and irritated, some turn to irrational actions. Being a law-abiding citizen, this seems absurd; nowadays this is an accepted way of handling problems for the disgruntled youth of our nation. Even though unconventional, the troubled youth are now viewing mass shootings as an accepted way of handling unmanageable personal problems.
Prescription medication should be a blessing for society, but the side effects may just outweigh the benefits. The easy answer to problems begins with prescriptions. These medications come with side effects that range from sexual dysfunction to suicide. Modern day medication is more by chance, than by formula. Medication is not a cure, it is maintenance. These pills aren’t solving problems, they are making them bigger. The medication puts people’s problems off. When you put your problems off, they get bigger. The prescriptions are like steroids for problems, once you begin taking them, your problems blow up.
Technology is the icing on the cake. With the constant development of technology, students are left with overwhelming pressure. Kids are under constant public scrutiny during their years of personal adolescent development; this can be too much. Between Facebook, Twitter and other prevailing social media, rumors can spread fast. Social media can be a cruel world and lacking life experience can leave youth feeling crushed by others’ stark comments.
We may never know the root causes to school shootings, but a remedy is definitely in order. A deathly combination of medication, technology and bullying has left America in shambles. With a fear for education and tension levels reaching an all-time high, America is desperate for a solution.
Our schools used to be a refuge for learning, now they are an opportunity for tragic disaster. The youth of America faces an ever-changing world of education. With school shootings on the rise and no end in sight, America has entered a new reality in which we send our kids to schools that may resemble a battlefield more than a learning environment.
With our children’s lives at stake and our freedoms in jeopardy, America can only sit back and see what happens next.
Dusty Beaver lives with his wife Christa and three children in Bayfield. He is a veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and a stay-at-home-dad currently enrolled in Pueblo Community College.
