I received some disturbing news recently. A person who I knew from high school just died of a drug overdose. This is the fourth person from my hometown that died from an opioid overdose. It made me realize that there are a lot of things wrong with society and that something needs to be done. I've reflected over events from the last few weeks and the best way I can release some of the negativity is to share my thoughts on here in no particular order.
59,000 people in 2016 died from opioid overdose. That is more than the number of fatalities in the Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq Wars combined. That is about twenty times more deaths than in the September 11th attacks. Opioid overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under the age of 50. And the best part? Our government's response was to pass a law that cuts millions of dollars from addiction treatment so that the wealthiest can get a tax break.
The most expensive Congressional election in history was held here on Tuesday. The amount spent was $50 million; five with zeroes after it. That's right. The previous record, which was set in 2016; $29 million. The average American makes approximately $54,000 per year. So roughly one million people could have paid an average salary with that money. Or it could have gone towards building a world class school in a poor neighborhood. Or it could have bought around 2,173 brand new Toyota Camry model cars.
Officer Jeronimo Yanez, a policeman in St. Andrews, Minnesota was acquitted of all charges in the 2016 shooting of Philando Castile. This is somewhat old news. However, I felt it was necessary to bring up because the police camera footage of the actual shooting was released recently and it basically showed Yanez shooting Castile without warning or provocation. Granted, I wasn't there and Castile calmly told Yanez that he was armed. Still, when questioned as to why he felt his life was endanger, Yanez said that he smelled marijuana and felt that was enough to make Castile a mortal threat.
I try to be optimistic and hope that someday humanity will strive to become better, not worse.
Stay kind, my friends.
