AMERICA: THE MAD

[col. writ. 9/19/13] © ’13 Mumia Abu-Jamal

Here we are, once again.

It surprises no one, and seems as expected as seasonal change.

‘A massacre’  “Oh – only 12 dead? Thirteen with the shooter?’ ‘Uh-huh… Have you seen the leaves change color yet?”

We turn our minds to other things, and soon, we quietly shut the door behind us.

‘What a shame’, we mumble, as we move on.

Mental distress is not solely an American malady; it is a human one.

And yet, as life becomes harder; as survival becomes more challenging, minds will increasingly shatter under the strain, and violence becomes the yell, breaking the glass of isolation – even if it also brings death.

After the 2008 Great Recession, jobs have been hard to find; good-paying jobs even harder.

In America, a man without a job isn’t  really a man. He can offer neither security nor support for a woman. He cannot build a loving nest of family.

He is a loner, outside of the warmth and purpose of life.

Is it maddening? Does it drive some men over the brink?

Yes. It is a scream from the psyche that can only be resolved by death.

I said it before – I’ll say it once more:  It ain’t over.  The politics of this era is insufficient to solve this problem.

In a few more days perhaps a week, or a month, the horror will fade, and business as usual prevails.

This is a nutty country.

It’ll only get nuttier.

–© ’13 maj