What's Goin' On?!

First, a local man takes people hostage at a shooting range before offing himself.

Then, a student destroys lives of other students and families at Virginia Tech because he's angry and miserable, and inevitably shoots himself.

Now, someone takes a hostage at NASA, kills that person and again calls it a day.

What is happening? Why does it seem like everywhere we turn people are turning their internal struggles into outward violence and aggression? I'm the first person to argue on behalf of people getting the help they need. But nothing pains me more than to watch completely innocent victims and their families getting pulled into that pain and their lives changed forever.

I can understand what might drive someone to decide "That's it. I'm done. I can't take it anymore. I'm ending my life." I can empathize with someone who feels that they've gone as far as they can make it, whether they're struggling with complex internal issues, outside obstacles or physical or emotional pain. But what drives someone to take that next step? To lose their senses so much that they feel their only exit involves grabbing whatever and whomever surrounds them in those final moments of desperation?

Between recent local deaths by suicide including TV weatherman John Winter and today's news of a prominent Tampa party-planner taking his own life, I feel surrounded by bad news 24/7, don't you? Who will we learn about today? What bizarre horrible event will make us even more fearful and paranoid to walk outside? People seem more unhappy and uncertain than ever and news of these events fuels that distrust, anger and fear even further.

An epidemic is upon us - front and center - and we're more focused on when the latest web-based gadget will be released.

There are other human beings among us and we're losing touch with each other.