Citizen Writers Fighting Censorship by Helping Americans Understand Issues Affecting the Republic.
I’m in Avondale Park. I’m watching random kids play baseball. The kids pepper the field. Gloves on their knees.
“Hey, batta batta batta!” they all chant. They look like third graders. The third-baseman looks like he has to go pee.
Morning. I am driving two-lane highways in the backcountry of Missouri. I have been sharing the highway with mostly rusty pickups and Massey Ferguson farm implements. Also deer.
Missouri. The place where the western prairie meets the southern cotton patches. It’s a foreign land to me.
You’d never know I was born in Missouri. You’d never guess my father died in Missouri.
Dear kid,
I know this is a hard day for you. It’s hard because everyone in the known solar system is throwing a party for their dad, and you’re not.
You died by suicide 30 years ago. You hated yourself. You hated this life. You hated where the world was heading. So you left. You’d probably hate it even more today. For one thing, they sell water in bottles now.
Suicide is a dirty word. Try using it in mixed company. Try using “suicide” at a dinner party. You wouldn’t. Because suicide is not something people talk about.
In a tragic and chilling incident that has left the military and intelligence communities grappling for answers, Green Beret Matthew Alan Livelsberger, a decorated U.S. Army Special Forces soldier, died by suicide on January 1, 2025, in Las Vegas.
Freedom from consequences has made those in our government complacent, and the safety net it promised is rotting – even as the net’s load is increasing.
Humans are distinct from all other species on Earth in many ways, one of the most sobering being our capacity for intentional suicide.
Editor’s Note: Suicide is an emotional topic. People of good will, often disagree as to the best way to prevent this sad and unnecessary loss of life. The opinions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of American Free News Network. Suicide. There is no more somber …