Is the world going down the wrong road? Are we as a society losing ourselves? Ever since the COVID-19 virus lead to a worldwide pandemic, it seems that as a nation, the United States has fallen apart due to hatred caused by politics, propaganda, racism and social media. Among teens, this has fostered poor mental health and inappropriate behavior.

Disagreements and hatred are things many people have experienced nowadays. Political and religious views have always been the source of animosity among people. But it has reached a point of going too far. For example, we cannot even seem to talk about important topics for our future—like who will be in office, what they stand for, health care, guns, and the vaccines.
Yes, these things do matter, but friendships and close relationships should not be determined by one’s opinion on these matters. It is like an argument about whether a hamburger or a hot dog is better; eventually, you can put your differences aside and still eat together and have a good time. Politics should be no different. Yes, you have different beliefs, but that does not define one’s character. One’s character should be determined by their personality. Doherty Sophomore Joseph Ramirez says, “I think that it’s unnecessary to argue about politics when you don’t have your own experience in the world and aren’t fully educated on what could lead you towards a standpoint. Most people I know keep their ideals the same with a closed mind because they were raised that way.” Ramirez believes we shouldn’t be fighting over something that we barely have experience in, especially if we get most of the information we argue with from family or a quick headline on social media without doing much research about it.

Another issue is racism, which has been a problem for millennia. It seems as if history keeps repeating itself. We should not be determined if we’re a bad person just by the way that we look because we don’t get to decide what we look like and we all bleed the same color. No human being is above any other human being. We all have a purpose here on earth no matter what the purpose is. We shouldn’t be held accountable for our ancestors’ actions. Believe it or not we don’t all follow the same path our ancestors once did. Therefore, people of color should not be accused of a crime just because of the way they look. That’s like accusing German shepherds of using the bathroom on your lawn, when in reality, all dogs are equally capable of this. The world would be a much better place if we all accepted that we are equal and helped each other get through tough times versus bursting out into riots and causing violence that is not needed. If we do not fix this and not come together with peace, it’s just going to keep getting worse and worse.

Doherty Sophomore Kris Taylor says, “Hate is a common thing found in society. It takes root and it spreads and spreads and at some point we have to cut it out. Racism is a type of hate that’s in the process of being uprooted, but it’s taking far too long. Racism, homophobia, sexism, and ableism have been around for far too long and that needs to change.”

Propaganda is something that unfortunately we see way too much of. Propaganda is something that can be described as a biased or misled nature toward a certain subject or view. For example, drastic rumors circling the COVID-19 virus ware that it will have weird side effects like overloading your immune system or changing DNA . Something that betters our health, such as vaccines and mask-wearing, is not something we should fear. Granted, with the vaccine coming out and being released to the public so fast, concerns surrounding its safety are reasonable. However, the vaccine is no different from any other vaccine to keep citizens healthy. Vaccines are not a religion or any type of political symbol; they are meant to simply help the community. So you should not judge or start an argument over if someone is vaccinated or not. We can all make our own choices and we should respect that.

Propaganda can also be used in the form of cyberbullying. For example, it is meant to mislead information about a certain subject or person . So if you hear anything bad about a person, don’t automatically assume they are true without any physical evidence. If you see anything, whether it be on social media, the news, or the internet, things are not always true, so be careful. According to https://education.tamu.edu/ it says, “A study conducted by Dr. Michael Workman, associate professor of technology management, found that social media can affect bias. “We found that when people are seeking new information about a topic, that social media can change people’s minds,” Workman said. “But if they have already made up their minds on something, say politics or religion, they mostly seek out information to confirm what they already believe.” this shows that social media has been more influential then the actual news.

School shootings seem like they happen almost daily in America, which begs the question: Can we prevent them? Kids shouldn’t have to fear going to school because they’re afraid that one kid is going to be fed up, and take matters into their own hands.

Doherty Sophomore Kairi Morgan says, “Mental health is so important because it affects how we act and feel. If we’re so stressed, we can break and lash out on those we care for. Maybe the school is taking the proper steps to help students. I’ve seen both sides. There are counselors and teachers who want to make high school the best and happier times for the students’ day.” If you know of a friend who is struggling with stuff, help them out and get the help they need that they may be afraid to ask for, this could prevent very bad outcomes in the future.

These are all things that if some of us took the time to help fix, America would be better off. This world is divided enough and it would help if some of us did small things to make it better. Some say to listen to life but instead of just listening to life, help write it. Life is like a book we write as a society and we determine what happens in the next chapter. So let’s write these next chapters in America with happiness and make it a better place before evil takes over and causes destruction in the world we worked so hard to build.