America is not as free as it has been. Many circumstances have caused the decline in freedom in the oldest democracy in the world. Many internal and external factors haunt us daily. Balancing freedom and security has become one of the most significant issues facing the American people and their leadership today.
The recent horrendous killing spree in the Columbia Mall in Howard County is yet another terrible reminder that our freedom to pursue happiness has become less free and often dangerous. In today’s world, even a Saturday morning of shopping at the mall or seeing a movie has its challenges and risks.
In view of the terror in Columbia, there will undoubtedly be calls for more gun control and other legal measures to be implemented at all levels of government, especially local and state governments. Perhaps more legislation against firearms is not the answer to a problem that increasingly affects American citizens. Many of the mass shootings that have occurred in this country and abroad have been committed by young people or by terrorist organizations. The Columbia Mall shooter was 19 years old. The random killing sprees, such as the one in Columbia, demonstrate that mental illness remains a real factor in these occurrences. However, it is hard to interview the instigator of these acts when he or she is dead. More preventive, pervasive, and accessible mental health services are essential in helping to avoid such devastating events in the United States. The press makes a sensational splash of such events to fill up the 24-hour news cycle. Then the event disappears in the ether, leaving grieving and lost parents, relatives, and friends behind, wondering “Why?”
While investigation is underway, facilities evacuated, victims identified, and next of kin are still being informed, the use of talking heads and so-called experts to discuss such heinous events does not cast greatness on the media and, in many cases, leads to erroneous conclusions, confusing the public and alarming victims and survivors.
The lack of mental health facilities and the availability of such services is a national problem with both state and local ramifications. One needs to go no further than Kent County to see examples of inadequate mental health services. The closing of the facility serving the Upper Shore, by the O’Malley administration is but one example. This is, in reality, only one small example of inadequate help, assistance, and treatment for our younger population. Then there is Washington College, with some 1400 students experiencing the stresses of higher education and the challenges of entering the adult world. Having adequate mental health services in a college town is always comforting and reassuring to students and parents.
Our world is becoming a more dangerous one in many parts of the globe, at warp speed. Today’s technological advances help manage criminal investigations, terrorist attacks, and military conflicts; however, they also isolate human beings, who never have to talk with other humans while learning from screens and videos, sometimes resulting in ill-defined, underdeveloped social skills. In many cases, it is our younger citizens who become isolated, less communicative and can easily manifest mental health issues that may go unnoticed and undetected.
Also, at home and across the globe, the use of technology has emboldened terrorist organizations and has enhanced their capabilities to strike. Al-Qaeda is not dead. They still threaten our freedoms and our lives.
Freedoms that we enjoy, such as Saturday morning shopping at the mall, are threatened. Existing gun laws are not adequately enforced, and mental health services, especially for the young, remain underfunded, inadequate, and disparate. Both freedom and terror are components of the American way of life, domestically and globally. They are the challenges of our day that really threaten the state of our union.
MARY WOOD says
Editor,
I understand Maryland is requiring background checks on those purchasing guns. As a result there was a huge increase in sales of firearms. Hunting is a sport which many citizens enjoy, but there is no sensible reason the weapons designed for the battlefield need to be purchased.
The citizens of Kent County should form a committee and see how adequate services for the mentally ill can be provided for our citizens. The police have had to take the place of mental health workers, and jail has become a hospital for those suffering from mental illness., while the Upper Shore facility stands vacant.
Can our hospital do nothing?
Jose Medrano says
Editor,
“Today’s technological advances help manage criminal investigations, terrorist attacks, and military conflicts; however, they also isolate human beings, who never have to talk with other humans while learning from screens and videos, sometimes resulting in ill-defined, underdeveloped social skills. In many cases, it is our younger citizens who become isolated, less communicative and can easily manifest mental health issues that may go unnoticed and undetected.”
We are growing more dependent on artificial intelligence. Our young people are being taught in the school systems more and more by the internet and cable television. It is unfortunate that we are removing the human element from our classrooms.
Janet Brandon says
Editor,
The author hits the nail on the head! Isolation appears to be prominent in most if not all the basis for attack behavior . This often leads to mental problems and aggression. The perpetrators of bullying and aggressive behavior were often loners. There would be more happiness and mutuality if we got back to learning, playing, exchanging ideas in groups.
I have heard from many people who get their education on line that even though the students are assigned to groups it is hard to interact/exchange with group members. Some people have not developed the art of group interaction and sharing. Am I on the right track for thinking that people need people?
Stephan Sonn says
Editor,
Mental illness has to be identified. How is that going to happen in this society?