Vacation needed to escape reports of violence

Ahh vacation. Not only is it a time to see new places, meet new people and experience new cuisine and culture, but it’s also a time to get away from the parts of life that have become way too routine and familiar.On a recent trip to the Azores—islands in the Atlantic Ocean that are part of Portugal although located some 900 miles from the mainland—my senses were revitalized with a stunning array of sights, tastes, smells and experiences.As wonderful as it was to be stimulated by captivating views of the incredibly verdant landscape and spend time chatting with warm and engaging people, I also realized missing from my vacation life was something that I didn’t miss one bit—the constant bombardment of reports of violence on U.S. soil.

When I’m home, I try to stay current on what’s happening locally and nationally and that means being exposed to daily reports of murder, assaults, hate crimes, and random acts of violence that permeate news reports and social media postings. In recent years, it seems these incidents have intensified to the point that most days half of television news is violence related.

This is not to say that crime doesn’t take place in vacation locales—it does. However, in some places crime rates are drastically lower than in the U.S.; and guns, especially automatic weapons, are not as readily available as they are in America. Sometimes when I’m traveling there are no reports of violence on the news or just a few. Of course, this could indicate that reporting on such matters isn’t encouraged, and a free press isn’t really free everywhere.

Still, when I was recently in the Azores—which one source designated as having “very low” violent crime—I had a reprieve from the oppression of the American news cycle, and it gave my brain a bit of a breather. The world didn’t seem so dark and threatening. I wasn’t consumed with anger, feelings of hopelessness and sadness from the tragedy of people I don’t personally know but consider part of my community.

However, vacation only lasts so long.

Upon returning home, I was immediately reintroduced to constant updates of domestic violence incidents that led to bloodshed, school shootings that resulted in dead students and others fleeing and traumatized, police encounters turned deadly for officers and the people they serve and random acts of hate and hostility—each one seemingly worse than the previous one.

Violence is so pervasive in our country that at times it’s difficult to stay up with the various incidents and victims.

Unfortunately, I don’t see anything changing in America as it relates to violence any time in the near or distant future. I fully expect my heart to be broken again and again and for anger and dismay to reside within me on a daily basis—until it’s time for another vacation.