NIKA LEANDRA'S BOOKS

Slow down and pay attention  Good morning! The latest shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin have once more taken our all breath away. Why is it, we may wonder that anyone as cold- blooded and despicable can secretly plan such dreadful deeds, is able to access firearms of their choice, goes to highly frequented places, mingles with the crowds, and ultimately executes what their sick minds have been harboring for some time? No question, individuals like them are mentally ill and do need psychiatric help, but what about their surroundings? How come nobody stopped those two serial killers in their tracks before all the horrific damage was done? Just the other day I read somewhere that the "Joker's" psychiatrist had gotten a chillingly detailed account from his patient before he carried out that massacre. Regardless of his ethic code of silence, it would have been his duty to inform police or FBI authorities about that sick kid's blueprint. And although the shooter of Wisconsin had been known as a notorious White Supremacy advocate, nobody seemed to bother keeping an eye on him - just in the case of cases. Okay, this is what I think. First of all, this country has been accelerating their daily speed of life into a dangerously over- the board red alert zone making it virtually impossible to take oneself off this fast spinning carousel. In an overall attempt to stay above the water, millions of Americans feels they have to put up with all those stupid but supposedly necessary every- day like chores and rituals like getting up in the morning, commuting to work, taking care of the kids, racing home to enjoy what is left of that day, get back to work the next day, and so on and so forth,  all to be able to pay over- prized bills, taxes, fines, and whatever else comes their way. Therefore, parents often find it hard to spend real quality time with their offspring. Instead lots of kids grow up with gadgets like TVs, cell phones and computer games to become their closest friends. They often try to escape from the stressful world their parents reside in five out of seven days, and thus start to alienate and ostracize themselves ever the more. Loners, quirky or strange kids, we are inclined to label them, and exactly at this point nobody really wants to connect the dots. Logically, those who are understood and handled as outcasts will at some point try and get people's attention, and since not everybody is born to end up as a true loner, at least two thirds will rebel against being taken as social misfits. Unfortunately, as we are all numbing ourselves more and more in order to cope with that stressful and overly hectic speed of life, we just don't care about each other anymore but increasingly seclude ourselves instead. We just don't want to deal with the fact that people simply crack and snap under all that enormous pressure which has in some cases been building up for a long time, partly because we do not want to fail ourselves, and partly because we feel disempowered altogether. The strength though lies in the effort to become aware of possible scenarios and stay alert. We all need to be there for one another and assist each other in gradually taking this insane, killing speed out of our lives.