I'm not one to throw my two cents into anything publicly, but this week has brought so many reports of teenage suicide that I thought this was necessary. After hearing about the death of RU student, Tyler Clementi, I started following the developments a little more closely. As an RU alumna his death hit a little closer to home. I've seen people do some pretty horrific things to each other over the years but the older I get, the more I want to see it come to an end. The focus of these deaths has centered a lot on sexual orientation but this problem goes far beyond just one issue. The fact of the matter, is that kids in middle school and high school tend to be mean. Insecurities run rampant, jealousy takes hold, names are called, punches are thrown and tears are shed. I'd guess that everyone suffers some level of torment at the hands of a peer during their childhood. I sure did.
Today I'm getting behind Dan Savage's Make it Better project. Things really do get better but to implement genuine change, action needs to be taken. American society needs to take a few leaps forward to pull itself out of what seems to be a regressive quicksand that's pulling the country back by decades.
Be the change.
