Solutions

I really believe there are many possible solutions to the world's many problems.  Among them are different gun control laws, planting trees and reclaiming the earth, better help for those with mental illness, stricter prosecution for criminals, and/or banning video games and media that glorify or even encourage murder and rape.  But I honestly, deep in my heart feel like a huge part of the problem is that everyone has stopped realizing what a privilege it is to have friends, to have time to be with family, to love and be loved, and to learn from other people.  People talk to other people--living, breathing human beings as if they're stupid, volatile, and inferior ALL THE TIME.

Have you ever seen Madagascar?  The monkeys say to each other "If you have any poo, fling it now."  I'm pretty sure that happens every day in the comment board on every news story, every social media page, everywhere in the world.

I know there's no way to teach people to love everyone and be kind to everyone.  And obviously you can't trust everyone.  But showing respect to other human beings, and trying to truly understand their point of view is so important.  Everybody is in a hurry to be understood, but nobody wants to take the time to understand anyone else. They're often just busy trying to make other people feel dumb, hoping it'll be a speedy way to get the other person to come around.  How do we not have it figured out that it just doesn't work?  "Whenever someone insults me or calls me names, I'm sure to realize I'm wrong"...said no person ever.

Here's something a real person said, though: “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.”  
― William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well 

Martin Luther King said "Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."   Too many people are communicating using hateful language--belittling, name calling, disrespectful language is not going to help others see light.  It never will.

What the world needs now, is love, sweet love.  It's the only thing that there's just too little of...

It's a flower child response, I know.  Truly, though, if I could pick one solution to "rule them all" it'd be that we all remember that we are all human beings, real people--we all need love, respect, and to be understood.