When criminals seem to be able to do whatever they want and God takes his time delivering you from a situation, it can leave one feeling like what is the purpose of life? A lot of people feel like money is the key factor that will make life better, but it may not be. Over the past two decades, adult suicides have increased by 30 percent. An estimated 45,000 people end their lives each year. Some of these people, like Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain were rich and famous and ended their lives. Then, of course, the usual narratives come up about mental illness, and no one ever stops to think that just because someone ends their life, it does not mean that they are mentally ill. Not all people who commit suicide are mentally ill, and mental illness is often not clearly distinguishable from normal distress. The extent to which someone is expressing their free will and is capable of being responsible for their actions is important to establish when deciding whether suicide indicates a psychopathological state of mind. The principle of autonomy, integral to a free society, requires that a person’s decisions regarding their own life should be respected whenever possible. There have been cases of people who are mentally healthy, but been an ongoing victim of crimes and have reached out for help, tried to get people to speak up about what is going on so they can get out of the situation that they are in, but no one will. Some people find certain situations so unbearable that they think it will never change, it has been going on so long, and no one seems to care and so they end their lives. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6

In many cases, there is no medication of the face of the Earth that can make a situation more bearable. An individual may be totally of sound mind, but just stuck in a situation that they cannot escape from. Some people turn to drug and/or alcohol to get through it, but there are people who want to keep their bodies healthy and do not want to be addicted to drugs. And when people will not acknowledge what is going on and there is no one who is willing to help change the circumstances, people get tired of waiting for life situations to get better. Suicide is not necessarily a matter of insanity, irrationality nor despair, and it is not primarily of medical concern. To call all suicides mentally ill downgrades their individual responsibilities. Suicide is indeed a complex issue encompassing philosophical, ethical, legal, and practical dilemmas. Some people, who had been victims of injustice and abuse, and have tried to take corrective measures to resolve the issues, but have not been able to feel that ending their life might save others lives because then the people who have been abusing them and violating their human rights will be exposed and punished. Maybe some lives are just here, on Earth, to save other people. Maybe some individuals have no real purpose. Nonetheless, it is tragic to think that by speaking up someone could have saved a life, but people keep pretending nothing is wrong and go on living their lives, and when someone ends up dead, others wonder how could this have been prevented when that individual have been reaching out to authorities and others and expressing what is wrong. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6

The fact of the matter why it is so hard to connect with others is because people do not care. Law enforcement sometimes allows abuse and human rights violations to go one because they are trying to protect people in positions of power. Although people know some people are having their human rights violated and being tortured and the media will nor any other organization will push to advocate justice for an individual, if there is in fact a cover up going on, imagine what kind of news coverage it will get when the media reports they found a dead body and the individual had been reporting to authorities what was going on and medical reports show there was a history of abuse. Whoever was involved and not taking the issues seriously will surely be exposed then. You cannot force people to care, you cannot force the system to enforce your rights, you cannot make God act when you want him to, so what other options are there? The fact of the matter is people will not care how they are hurting another person until it affects them legally and/or financially. Also, some people define insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. However, would it not be insane to try and resolve a situation over and over for years and it never changes? The most excusable cause of suicide seems to be an emaciated body; when a person a labours under the torture of an incurable disorder, and seem to live only to be a burden to oneself and others. This was thought to be a sufficient apology in the ancient days. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6

In The Grandeur and Declension of the Roman Empire Montesquieu expressed admiration for the Roman practice of suicide, which gave everyone the liberty of finishing one’s part on the stage of the World, in what sense one pleased. Montesquieu believed that a human life was no more important to the Universe than that of an oyster. If the disposal of human life were reserved to the Almighty, almost any action would become an encroachment of his privilege. It is cruel to prevent sufferers from getting justice or the quick death for which they ask and a true estimate of the value of human beings leads to the conclusion that the wishes, interests, and aspirations of every human being ought to be taken into account by every other human being who has dealings with that individual. There is no ethical value of living just any sort of life; the only life that is worth living is the good life. We may define the good differently, but no matter what our conception of the good life is, it presupposes a physical basis—a certain indispensable minimum of physical and social well-being—necessary for even a limited realization of that good life. And sometimes you hear people saying be careful of how you treat others because you never know what they are going through, but sometimes your rude comments are not even really bothering them. That even has nothing to do with their death wish because they honestly do not even consider your comments valid. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6

Experts say that an obsession with death can lead to suicide, but so can an obsession with freedom and wanting to be treated like others. It is really not fair to hold some people a higher standard and expect them to be understanding and endure injustice when if the things that have been done to them were done to someone else, the laws would have been enforced and the torture would never have gotten that far. And it seems the only time people care about one individual in society is when a Black man is killed by police, and no one else’s pain and suffering even matters. So, are they saying the only way for an individual, who is not having their rights honored, to get any recognition is to be killed by the police. How could a community know someone is being tortured, but nothing is being done about it? It is like a quiet storm, everyone knows what is happening, but on the surface no corrective action is being taken. No one is officially addressing the situation. Some people who contemplate suicide do not want sympathy, they do not want you to care, they simply want you to tell the truth, to speak up on their behalf about what is going on so they can get justice and move on with their lives. No one wants to spend an eternity writing essays, walking around a park for exercise and waiting for God or the laws to set them free. Everyone in this life has their challenges and difficulties. That is part of our mortal test. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6

The reason some of these trials cannot be readily understood except on the basis of faith and hope because there is often a larger purpose which we do not always understand. Peace comes through hope. And maybe everyone needs a chance to express what they are not saying. Everyone can enjoy the hope that comes from the knowledge that God truly lives. Such hope springs from the belief that if we have faith, somehow he will help us through our challenges—if not in this life, then surely in the life to come. In the eternal scheme of things, wrongs will be righted. In the perfect justice of the Lord, all who live worthily will be compensated for blessings not enjoyed here. We are moving to a higher level of faith and activity than there ever has been. I pray that each of us will be found holding up our end of the line in this great army of righteousness. And maybe some people are just bored with life and want to get it over with because their dreams seem so far out of reach even though they have been trying. Nonetheless, keep the commandments. In this there is safety and peace. Nothing this World has to offer can surpass the joy of living the gospel. No Worldly wealth nor possession, no degree of fame or recognition can supplant the satisfaction of feeling the warmth and peace of the Spirit of the Lord in our Hearts and in our homes. As we strive for success, we cannot allow anything vain nor foolish thing to divert us from the path of faith and lead us away from being true to our covenants. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6