Lack of Civil Communication in America

Lack of Civil Communication in America
Name
Institution
Lack of Civil Communication in America
The Problem
The lack of civil communication in America is more prominent now than ever before. Our inability as a nation to communicate with one another efficiently has led to horrific violent acts such as mass shootings. We are living in a time where people are trying to divide us instead of uniting us. Violence in America is becoming a norm unfortunately, with mass acts of violence being reported almost on a daily basis. Many of the suspects that commit these acts have been isolated in one way or another. Three major things most of these suspects have been exposed to are bullying, cyberbullying, and the influence of negative role models.
Multiple shooters responsible for mass shootings have been a victim of severe bullying prior to committing their crimes. Unfortunately, bullying is a very common thing that kids are exposed to in school but some kids get bullied to a point it affects them emotionally, significantly lowering their self-esteem. This bullying creates a feeling of isolation.  Not all kids know how to respond to the anger and frustration they feel as a result of the bullying they experience. Students are told to tell someone when they are being bullied but that doesn’t always solve the problem. Because of this, some kids feel like they have to take things into their own hands to make the bullying stop. Nicholas Cruz was a student who attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. In February of 2018, Nicholas Cruz arrived at his former high school and ended the lives of 17 innocent teenagers (Brown 2018). A lot of people following the story are aware that Nicholas Cruz has mental illnesses that affect his ability to socially interact (Brown 2018). What many people aren’t aware of is that Nicholas was constantly ridiculed and mocked by his peers because of his eccentric behavior (Brown 2018). On top of being bullied at school, he came from a household that was once investigated for child abuse (Brown 2018). A student by the name of Manolo Alvarez said he regrets not saying anything. Nicholas Cruz committed minor violent acts prior to the shooting but most of them were dismissed (Brown 2018). Small acts of violence need to be taken seriously by school officials and those students need to be monitored more closely than others. We as a society must take a stand against the ever growing issue of bullying. With the internet quickly taking over, we are seeing that not all bullying occurs face to face.
With technology being a big part of social interaction, cyberbullying is increasing across America. 58% of kids admit to being bullied online and 40% of teens are cyberbullied on more than one occasion (Organic 2014). 90% of teens have admitted to seeing cyberbullying and chose to ignore it (Organic 2014). Many cyberbullies state they see cyberbullying as funny and a game. When people choose to not speaking up when they themselves are being cyberbullied or when they see someone being cyberbullied will only reinforce those cyberbullies beliefs that their actions are not harmful. Constant harassment online has led to a growing number of suicides among young teens. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among teens (Organic 2014). There are over 4,000 suicides every year and half of those suicides are the result of some sort of bullying (Organic 2014). Most individuals don’t think of suicide as a violent act but it is, just a self inflicted one. Someone’s life is still being taken away. At the end of the day, someone is still losing their child, a friend, or a sibling. While some people have never experienced bullying that would cause them to act out or contemplate ending their life, they are being desensitized to this. When we are constantly subjected to the same things we lose our ability to feel empathy towards that particular thing. That is exactly what is happening when kids witness or are subjected to bullying on a daily basis. Not only does the media have a large impact on our children but what and who they choose to view does as well. When a child has negative role models it can influence the way that child interacts with others.
By negative role models, we mean someone who condones violence against people who don’t agree with their ideas or beliefs knowing they have a large number of followers or a large influence in the community. Donald Trump, The President of the United States, who should be considered a bad role model, he is someone who constantly encourages violence from his followers. For example, at a rally in Iowa, Donald Trump told his supporters to attack any active protestors. He stated if they did he would handle all of their legal bills (Keneally 2018). A majority of people who heard that comment simply cheered and brushed it off. However, some people took his comment very seriously and opted to fulfill his request and attacked protesters. In Fayetteville, NC a man by the name of John Franklin McGraw was arrested for punching a Trump protester who was being escorted out of the event (Keneally 2018). A day later Trump posted a message on Twitter stating he doesn’t condone violence of any kind (Keneally 2018) although there’s a ton of evidence that proves otherwise. Trump has even stated that he condoned the attacking of people who objected him. Most individuals have idols that they worship and look to for influence. Some people use the statements made by public figures such as Trump as permission to commit crimes. The man who recently sent pipe bombs to famous democrats was a follower of Trump and felt he was doing him justice. This man though that Trump wanted him to do this because he promotes violence almost on a regular basis, the man thought he was given permission to send those pipe bombs. He saw it as a way to show his support for Trump. “Role models” l...