Connecting The Dots

It is easier to point to a particular problem after a negative event occurs that takes us all by surprise.  But after sometime and thought, we soon come to realize that some indicators or signs where missed early on.  And if those indicators or signs could have been identified earlier, perhaps a meaningful solution could have been found.    What make it so challenging in finding a solution is not knowing what to look for,  false assumptions, miscalculations, lack of cultural awareness, lack of vision or limited listening skills.     

       

Regardless of how we see or feel about it, what is occurring all across America these days with the easy access to guns, legal and illegal drugs is greatly impacting our way of life.  And when you add this new normal to the mixture that includes poverty, mental illness, food deserts, lead in water pipes, cancer, unemployment, disabilities, PTSD, AIDS, racism, trauma and domestic violence, then what we are experiencing is just the beginning of more to come.    

In one way or another, many researchers and community leaders are aware that many of the ills of our society are linked together.  Sometimes the links are clear, due to testing of what an individual has ingested, while others links can only be determined by looking through a social, economic or culture lens.  In many situations the links are similar due to the outcomes and what happen.  While other situations vary from one case to another, but each case helps us to better understand what people are dealing with and how they are coping. 

I know that is easy to point a finger at this or that as an underlying cause to an event.  Of course that would not help us to fully understand the situation or issues at hand.  However, when an event occurs, it should give us clues and alert us of what we should be on the lookout for.  Each event may be isolated, but does not mean that it will not happen again.  The event may be one of kind, it may happen on your watch, but each event serves as a wakeup call to what just happen and if we are wise in our pursuit for answers we have to connect the dots and follow where they go.   

Causality

We will be hard press to look at 2016 in Milwaukee as just an average year in the city.  A year that began with great promise and potential, especially considering the new innovations, business startups, expanded growth and new construction projects.  It certainly has been a busy year so far in those terms, but what started out as a great year has also uncovered a growing list of underlining social and community issues.  

        

On one hand we see buildings rising from the ground that are reshaping the Milwaukee skyline.  We see new enterprises, partnerships, ribbon cuttings and the expansion of highways and bypasses in and around the city that are helping to make it easier and safer to travel.  In addition, we see the new bold construction initiatives of suburban communities that are simply capturing the minds of a new generation.  Some of these projects include new housing, schools and shopping squares. 

    

However, on the other hand it is clear that some things have not changed at all.  It is just not the riot that resulted in businesses being lost, a neighborhood shaken, an increasing number of drug overdoses, ongoing gun violence, high unemployment of young black men and youth, limited access to health care and growing poverty.  Some of these things have been going on for decades.  And for a new generation that has been greatly impacted by recent events and who are now feeling the effects of the long term flawed policies of the pass as well as a lack of vision.  

    

The shame of it all is that some of these effects can be prevented if only the root causes are addressed in time.  We also know that when there is little to no work done in prevention, something will happen sooner or later that will get our full attention.  It is within these unique moments that there is a need to look and deal with real causes before they turn into events that can get out of sight and out of mind.  For it is one process that creates an opening for another process and it is that process that can cause more damage in the long run and that leads to unthinkable outcomes.  

Scratching The Surface

Each and every day, something occurs that grips our attention and keeps us on the edge of our seats in wanting to know more about how and why something happen?  And this summer in Milwaukee has done just that.   For many of us, witnessing a riot that burned businesses in one neighborhood, looting, throwing bricks and confronting police are nothing new for an older generation who lived through the late 1960’s and martial law. 

However, it is a new experience for a younger generation that has been greatly impacted by a growing level of gun violence, drug use, terrorism, high incarceration rates for people of color and unemployment.  Besides that, there was a rise in the number of homicides in August that has not been seen in 25 years and now a call for more law enforcement.  Well the picture is clear that something is wrong and what we have been doing is not working.    

Over the years, most of us have also learned that the first step to take after a particular situation or event occurs is to not rush to judgement or conclusions.  The reason for this position is simple; what we are first told too often is not the whole story, but a snap-shot in time of what happen. And as things begin to play out or investigated, more details emerge and that alone can change or alert the way we see things.  Of course, if it can be caught on video, then things can change quickly.              

Today, we are only beginning to see the power of being able to reach beyond what we see or do only a fraction of what is possible.  The real test is to move beyond the superficial details and move beyond our simple understanding of what is happening, but to begin to delving into the depths of what is going on.  We need to learn more about the root causes and long term impact of poverty, conflict, mental health, trauma, drug use, and lead in water pipes, sub-standard housing, no health insurance and racism.  And if no one else is looking into these pressing issues, then it is up to us to find the answers for ourselves.