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.