The game of life is hard to play
I'm gonna lose it anyway
The losing card I'll someday lay
so this is all I have to say.
(Refrain)
That suicide is painless
it brings on many changes
and I can take or leave it if I please.
- Third verse of “Song from M*A*S*H (Suicide is Painless)” with music by Johnny Mandel and lyrics by Mike Altman
A February 5 article by Melanie Haiken of Forbes reported that, “Almost once an hour – every 65 minutes to be precise – a military veteran commits suicide, says a new investigation by the Department of Veterans Affairs.” The report goes on to say that, “69 percent of the suicides recorded were by veterans age 50 and older.”
Regarding soldiers on active duty, Ms. Haiken writes that, “Just two weeks ago, the military released data showing that suicides among those on active duty hit a record high in 2012. There were 349 suicides among active duty personnel – almost one a day. That means there are now more suicides among active duty soldiers than there are combat deaths.”
A May 2 article in the New York Times by Tara Parker-Pope reports that, “Suicide rates among middle-aged Americans have risen sharply in the past decade…. More people now die of suicide than in car accidents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which published the findings in Friday’s issue of its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. In 2010, there were 33,687 deaths from motor vehicle crashes and 38,364 suicides.”
The Times reports “The most pronounced increases were seen among men in their 50's, a group in which suicide rates jumped by nearly 50 percent, to about 30 per 100,000. For women, the largest increase was seen in those ages 60 to 64, among whom rates increased by nearly 60 percent, to 7.0 per 100,000.
The “Song from M*A*S*H” suggests there is a choice as to whether one would commit suicide. It appears that more and more Americans are choosing to opt out of life. Something is obviously wrong.
When young men and woman on active military duty find themselves in life or death circumstances repeatedly, and when there is little to no evidence that the sacrifice will lead to any positive or meaningful outcome, despair is the likely result.
When a growing number of middle-aged men discover their hard work will not be rewarded and their “American Dream” has become a nightmare, despair takes over.
When women find that as they enter the supposed “golden years” of their lives and realize that the golden time is tarnished, despair poisons their outlook on life.
Some, according to the reports on America’s rising suicide rate, suggest a large part of the problem lies with the proliferation of prescription painkillers. But then, the question arises as to why Americans are feeling so much pain.
America, with its hyper consumer culture, promises a life of true happiness when one acquires the next, best product that the culture offers. The problem is the desired happiness must always be postponed for the new and improved version waiting just around the bend. Even American religion has been consumerized and peddled as a product that offers fulfillment.
When one awakens to the realization you have been sold a “bill of goods,” the experience is truly painful. Then one might conclude that, “suicide is painless….”
America’s suicide rate is symptomatic of a very deep malaise in our culture. It behooves us to focus on understanding and healing this American disease rather than attempting to cover the symptoms with a balm that cannot restore us to wholeness.
