Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Pain

The good thing about pain is that there is plenty to go around.

Pain is an enormous resource that will never be depleted. So enormous it can easily handle the 7 billion in the world today, with plenty of reserves available to deal with a population that multiplies like rabbits do.

Physical pain is all around us. People suffering with horrible diseases, people hurt in accidents, people born with diseases and physical problems that make their lives incredibly difficult.

That, of course, is not enough. There is psychological pain in abundance. The shock of life's false promise resulting in sheer bewilderment in the hearts of the majority of human beings.

Psychological pain probably exponentially dwarfs the physical pain in the world. The majority of people in the world struggle to just get by and wonder what the hell the point is.

The Center for Disease Control says that the suicide rate in developed countries dropped between 1990 and 2010. However, in the United States the rate has jumped almost 20% in the last decade.

And to put one more twist on it, if you look back to World War II the American suicide rate has not changed much at all.

Apparently the suicide trend is humming right along. Apparently it is not just the latest fad.

Why do you think this is? Happiness?

More stats. Baby Boomers are leading the charge. The suicide rate for Americans between the ages of 45 and 64 has increased more than 30% in the last decade. For white, upper-middle-aged men the rate has jumped more than 50%.

Fifty fucking per cent.

The world is getting nastier all the time and suicide rates are climbing as a result.

It is worse in this country because we talk about all men being created equal, we talk about the land of opportunity, we talk about the pursuit of happiness. The gap between those pretty words and reality is huge.

A gap created and fed by those who are supposed to look out for us.

Robin Williams' suicide has sparked a discussion on suicide just like Philip Seymour Hoffman's death sparked a discussion on heroin.

We like to talk.

I heard a rare intelligent comment on the topic last night. A woman was discussing the typical reaction that suicide is selfish, that the act fails to take into consideration the feelings of those left behind.

I always considered this point of view ignorant. If somebody's pain is so enormous that death is the only answer, who are we to question that decision? Those who are left behind, if they love you, should understand.

This woman said that maybe, considering the pain that Williams felt, that maybe he felt he was hurting his family, that maybe he felt he was a burden to his family, maybe he was thinking about his family when he killed himself.

Suicide is an uncomfortable topic. I find it ironic though, that we have turned life into an impossible thing, an enormously frustrating and disappointing thing, and then we turn around and look down upon people who choose a way out.

Pain is enormous and growing. It is the end result of our own stupidity, selfishness and pettiness.

Psychological pain is something we try to hide. Something we mock as weakness.

Given the stats, maybe this approach is slightly off base.

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