Let's all stop and think for a moment. Clear our mind of all of our issues we have occurring in our personal lives right now, step back and take a look at the world as humans. If you truly take a moment to think of the world as a whole, you would see we're simply just destroying ourselves. As our species as a whole will be no longer if we continue on the path we're on right now. Destroying the resources that we need to survive, destroying the planet we live on, and destroying each other. Right now our main concern should be the fact that more and more people are dying and we're not doing a damn thing about it.

For years I avoided the news simply because I dreaded hearing all of the terrifying, evil things that would happen overnight while I peacefully slept. Anytime I did fall upon the news I got this gut wrenching feeling that wouldn't go away for hours, a hint of depression would slip into my mood and I just couldn't shake it. When someone would ask me what was wrong I couldn't explain it because it's a speechless feeling. To this day I cannot understand how someone has the ability to just shake off all of this horror off their chest and keep a smile on their face. Maybe I just have learned that skill yet, but I cannot be happy knowing all of this tragedy is taking place and it seems nearly impossible that things will change.

On July 7th, when the lives of 5 innocent officers were taken and several other innocent people were injured during an eruption of gun violence during a peaceful protest, I had reached my limit, it is time for a change. No officer should lose their lives protecting others and no one should be senselessly murdered during a traffic stop for a broken tail light. The list of events in the past few months alone is more than enough events we need to prove my point. Yes, officers know the risk of their lives when become an officer but that does not mean it should happen. Unfortunately no one will ever know what truly happens in some of these situations because we were not there to experience it, but it's all got to stop, regardless who the victim is.

From what I've seen it just seems as though we are scared of one another and we have this tool/weapon that can make us more powerful than the other person, and it's spun out of control. You cannot sit there and tell me that we don't have a gun control issue because we do. When small children are getting ahold of a gun and accidentally shooting themselves or their parents, or some angry adult decides to go buy a gun and shoot a room full of innocent people at the move theater, or a frightened individual protects himself from fear by killing the other individual, whatever the incident there is an issue and it's time we face it selflessly and intelligently.

If we look at where this all sprouted from unfortunately it comes down to race and anger. Racism should not be an issue right now. Racism is something we should've overcome a long time ago, for example when Martin Luther King Jr. among other brave individuals who lost their lives to this issue. When it comes down to it, we are all human for crying out loud and to be idiotic enough to see another based upon the color of their skin rather than their individuality is mind-blowing and angering to me. We cannot let that get in the way of our humanity, we cannot let this become another incident in the history book, because I refuse to raise my child in a world where "Domestic Terrorism" is a term they are strongly familiar with.

It really is up to us to stop these senseless acts. We need to act to end of all this tragedy. It is extremely difficult to explain how to begin and even more difficult knowing that there is not an exact answer to ending it. It's not as simple as most of us would like it to be and that's the most frustrating part but starting at the heart of everything, at home, is all we can do. Just remember that we're all we have, each of us are important, each of us are a gift to the world and we all will leave a mark that others will grow upon. Don't forget that at the end of the day we're all humans and each and every one of our lives matter. Behind each individual life is a group of people who love them, and to take them away from this loved ones would be tearing a whole in each of their hearts, creating a world of pain.

I am no expert on all of the recent events but I am no heartless idiot. Yes, tears have fallen down my face for live's taken I do not know, not to mention the countless lives taken each day that do not make the news. It's time to make a change and this my cry for help for others to do the same. We can make a difference without violence, we can make a difference everyday, it's a matter of patience and understanding.