The Great Melting Pot

From its foundation, the United States has been a country of immigrants.  Whether fleeing persecution, seeking opportunity, or in some cases, brought against their will, people have come from all parts of the world to settle and build the USA.  We have earned our nickname of “melting pot” because of the broad diversity that makes up our population.

Because we originate from so many countries, our national mindset includes ideas, beliefs, and backgrounds from nearly every major religion, philosophy, and culture.  Our diversity is a blessing to the country, and without this breadth of background, we would be less than we are today.  Many still dream of coming to America to find a better life, and we want to welcome those that will help continue to build our country’s greatness.

To reach our country’s full potential, and to protect the opportunities for those that will immigrate in the future, we need to ensure that our policies and processes support our goals.  How to best support immigration is a highly-debated topic in our country today.  Let’s cut through the rhetoric and the partisanship, and talk about the merits of the different potential solutions.

To be, or not to be...

"To be, or not to be…" Anyone who has made it through high school English probably recognizes these words from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.  Have you considered what Hamlet is talking about in this famous monologue?  To put it simply, he is contemplating suicide.

Data from the CDC indicates that suicide is a large and growing issue in the United States.  Based on the CDC numbers, someone dies from suicide every 13 minutes in the US.  And given the relatively low “success” rates of suicide attempts, that means two people attempt suicide every minute in this country.   For some demographics, suicide is a bigger killer than cancer, than drug use, than texting while driving.  Think about the times you hear about these other dangers in an average week.  Now think about the last time you heard a commercial or a discussion on how to prevent suicide.  Scary, isn’t it?

National studies indicate that about 25% of the US population will experience clinical depression in their lifetime.  Similar studies suggest that 9-10% of people contemplated suicide in the last year, with estimates that 20-25% of Americans will contemplate suicide some time in their lives.  Those numbers indicate that most of us know someone who has thought about killing themselves.

Sadly, most people have no idea how to respond to these feelings in themselves or others.  I don't mean that people don’t care.  On the contrary, I think most people would like to prevent suicide.  The problem is knowing what to say or how to react.  Luckily, you have found the answer (if you finish reading this article).  Let’s first look at some of the worst myths about suicide.  Then we will talk about how to best respond to suicidal thoughts.