It was a sunny day in Texas. A peaceful and secure military base was going about its daily business. All of a sudden, gunfire rang out and people ran for cover. Over one hundred shots were fired. It finally ended when a police officer’s bullet brought down the assailant. When it did end, thirteen soldiers lay dead and over thirty were wounded. The shooter was one of their own, a soldier like them. A week earlier, a man walked into an office and opened fire, killing one person. Earlier in the year, a man massacred thirteen people in an immigration center.

These shootings and countless others beg the question: why does there seem to be so much violence in America recently? The American people are under a lot of stress, embroiled in two major wars and suffering from the worst economic depression in recent memory. Perhaps the violence is coming from individuals who cannot cope with the increase in tension. While we all do live individual lives, I believe that America as a whole, or any country for that matter, has a collective mood to it. The shooting in Fort Hood was carried out by Major Nidal Malik Hasan. What makes this shooting even more striking is that he was a psychiatrist, one of those entrusted’ with’ protecting the mental health of soldiers back from the battlefield. He was a devout Muslim, who was feeling major apprehension about deploying to Afghanistan. Did the military and family members miss key red flags in all of these cases of mass murder?

The major stressors that accompany living in the modern world perhaps bring out underlying psychological issues in people. Are there signs of their potential for violence that people miss? In the case of the Fort Hood shootings, there had been some indication for concern about Major Nidal, but nothing to warrant a full investigation. In the case of the Orlando shooting, the shooter was a disgruntled employee who felt that his life had been destroyed by being laid off by that particular company. This may be true, but there are many Americans who have had their lives destroyed by unemployment. What causes one person to become violent and the other to cope in a healthy way? I feel that it may be the amount of real world violence or perceived violence that a person is exposed to. Some people are more sensitive to stories that involve violence and may become traumatized by them. Major Nidal had heard first-hand accounts of the most extreme and saddening cases of violence and tragedy; other people might be affected by accounts of violence they hear on the news or learn about from friends. Soldiers are particularly susceptible to being traumatized because of the intense violence they witness. There have been cases in the past of military personnel lashing out violently against loved ones. A top priority of the armed forces should be to help them transition in and out of a battle zone. This extra counseling by another psychiatrist might have helped Major Nidal Malik Hasan deal with his issues and prevented this tragedy. Another issue that needs to be addressed is how easily a person can obtain firearms.

In this day and age, people have very open access to weapons, so what might start as a violent fantasy could very easily be turned into reality by loose gun laws. A person who is contemplating violence might be able to control themselves or get help if they had time to think about what they were doing and not be able to buy a gun so easily. The government should take steps to try and increase gun safety.

Violence is a very primal response and a crude mechanism for coping with stress. We all should look at our daily lives and try to find ways to deal with stress in a safe way. Sometimes a person is so busy that they do not take time to deal with’ his or her own’ inner health. I feel that the government should launch an awareness program telling Americans to really take time to watch how they feel and make sure that they are happy, or at least able to deal with all of life’s issues. In the end, we need to remember that people living in a country experience problems together and we should never turn a blind eye to the stress and problems of our neighbors, even if they are not aware of it themselves. It is up to all of us to make sure that we all stay as happy and healthy as we can, and that we have ways to help those who need it.