Letter to the Editor

Offer a hand-up, now a put-down

Monday, September 16, 2019

Dear Editor,

Poor mental health and death by suicide has become rampant in modern society. Some contributing factors are the breakdown of the family, fear and anxiety produced by school shootings and other senseless massacres, dealing with natural disasters caused by extreme weather, escalating tensions between factions within our country and wars and rumors of wars around the globe.

Social technology seems to make us feel more isolated rather than bringing us together.

Schools are implementing “Be Kind” curriculum to counteract isolation and bullying. Maybe if adults would have been better examples, we wouldn’t have arrived at this sorry state of affairs.

Often times, if we knew someone’s “the rest of the story” we would understand why they are struggling and offer them a hand-up instead of a put-down.

If someone breaks an arm or a leg, the doctor puts a cast on it for support while the bone tissue mends.

Without immobilizing the bone, it won’t heal correctly. Friends sign the cast and wish the patient well. We don’t treat a broken bone with amputation.

When people become depressed, the people around them may not know what to say, so they say nothing.

Or they ignore the person altogether.

This unfortunate reaction cuts off the social support needed to heal from brokenness.

A sense of community is important for anyone to live a well-adjusted life.

Janine Hall-Pantenburg,

McCook, Neb.

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