Summer 2016 was something that almost everyone looked forward to. Finally being free from classes or other obligations and able to relax in the sun. But there was something that many didn’t see happening so often during this summer: tragedy. Not just one big colossal event, but one right after the other. The summer started with the murder of singer Christina Grimmie and the unspeakable act of hate and terror that occurred at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, where 49 lives where taken, to now the half way point in summer, where each day this past week has given us a new tragedy to mourn over. It started with the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile which prompted protests around the country. Then, during one of these peaceful protests in Dallas, five officers were killed by snipers. Everyday this summer, we have waken up to a new tragedy, a new thing to #PrayFor.
In a world where social media is a daily and almost seemingly essential part of everyday life, news travels around fast and it’s almost impossible to not know what is going on. Most people, more than likely, start their day off by checking their social media to see what is happening in the world that day, to check up on what they missed while they were sleeping and, lately, every morning they have woken up to a new #PrayFor trend. The use of social media and the overwhelming presence of technology has made everything hit at home. Any tragedy that would seem unspeakable is something that we are now reading about daily. Every loss of life, every sick assault that happens to an unsuspecting victim as they were going about their day, has slowly become a part of our everyday life. Was the world always this bad? Or is the presence of things, such as social media, making it seem that way, since we learn about this news a matter of seconds after it happens?
An initial reaction to these matters, such as the ones that have affected the country this summer alone, has sparked different emotions such as sadness, outrage, etc. But one reaction that is becoming more prominent in combination with the others is now a response similar to a “What happened now?”, a shrug of the shoulders as we continue with our everyday life. Tragedies that would once stop a nation in its tracks in shock, are now becoming a daily conversation that is held at dinner time. This is not to say that no one is grieving over them, as that grief is clearly displayed, but more often, it is appearing that these horrible acts are just becoming “the norm”, almost as if we are being desensitized, since they are appearing to happen more frequently. How many tragedies must we face before we see some form of a change?
The world seems to becoming a darker place. But where there is darkness, there is also light. This light comes in the form of so many things. It comes in the form of peaceful protects, such as the Black Lives Matter movement, who come together to bring to light a problem they see and a change that needs to be made. It comes in the form of tribute, such as in the Pulse nightclub tragedy, where a nation came together to mourn those lost and do what they could to help. While these tragedies seem to be an everyday occurrence, they are also becoming something that is waking up a new generation, a generation that is coming together to realize the issues and to support one another. We may not understand all that is happening around us, but what we can do is be there to support and educate and be the generation that is the one who makes a change. We may now live in a world where tragedy is becoming seemingly normal, but maybe and hopefully, the next generation can be the one that makes that change.
