As a concerned American citizen, I seek serious answers to troubling questions.
Why does a young person stockpile weapons and ammunition in order to kill other young people?
Why are teenage suicides occurring in epidemic numbers?
Why does a young person join a gang that drives by and shoots strangers on the street or kills someone out of revenge or to prove loyalty?
Is it because they want attention? Maybe it is because of anger that turns into rage. Could it be a “Copy Cat” action? Mental illness is thought to be a reason, is it?
Is it because of acceptance? A need to be loyal, to belong? Is it a lack of respect? Maybe because living seems hopeless? Is it a cry for help that was not heard or was ignored?
Could it be television, movies, or games that make death and killing a “natural, accepted way of life?”
As Chief, Counseling, I work with young people who want to go to college. Often, the question is asked, “Why?”
And often the answer revolves around “disappointment” with life, the past, society, parents, lack of opportunity, not being able “to get ahead,” no future, no other choice, money,and the list continues. They are worthy reasons for wanting to go to college, but disappointment and feeling hopeless are often at the root of the reason. And, if disappointment is not resolved or overcome, it can turn to anger and anger to rage, and rage to either kill or take one’s life.
You are thinking, “Your a Chaplain/Minister not a Psychiatrist. The reasons at the beginning of this article are more likely. Disappointment is too easy an explanation.”
I agree. It seems that way, doesn’t it? And, I am not Psychiatrist, Psychologist, or a Therapists. I am just a human being trying to understand and help if possible.
Recently, I went through old calendars and notes collected while I was a Navy Chaplain at Navy Boot Camp, Great Lakes. Days, weeks, months over a period of 3-years were filled with names, dates, reasons, and situations that began with “Disappointment.” Answers like “I thought the Navy would be different;” “I hated school and the town I lived in. They are just a bunch of hypocrites and A-holes;” “I was getting in trouble;” “I want to be somebody but I will never be.” “I am not accepted. No one wants me around.” “I have nothing to look forward to except more of the same,” “I have no friends, not even a dog,” and on and on.
What was even more painful was when a parent called and said, “Chaplain, if he fails Boot Camp tell him that we do not want him; he no longer has a home here; do what he wants to do but he is not coming back here. As far as we are concerned, good-riddance. He never was any good.”
Oh yes, those telephone calls were not once or twice in 3-years; they were once or twice a month.
The spirit of disappointment may be the demon that plagues many young people today. Maybe it is a form of mental illness caused by society’s inability to hear and take the time to listen; to help them express and understand their feelings; and to give assurance that nothing is hopeless or impossible. Maybe Disappointment is a form of Deafness that can be changed with love, listening, and learning.
Just a thought that rings true from experience. I do not have all the answers but I am willing to try. Much is at stake.