The horrific violence in Orlando returns us to desperate grief and vain attempts to find solutions to the persistent threat of attack in our world. Gun control obviously demands new legislation, but the attempt of outer control for an inner conflict of global proportion is only part of the change required. We have to address the mind of violence and our nation’s addiction to it.
Los Angeles is a vast creative community and a city with a truly inspirational spirit. We birth stories from ideas and put them on screens. We create films and productions through the recognition that our interconnectedness is a vital element to a successful collaboration.
But the world of media has spawned an addiction, and violence is now our entertainment. We can change laws, but we have to change our minds, and that’s going to be hard to do in the context of the saturation of violence we are exposed to on screens we watch daily.
What if there was a moratorium on the use of weapons in the entertainment industry for one year? What if we did not see trailers, commercials or films with guns and violence for an entire year? An addict doesn’t get clean without eliminating the substance. What if we used the power of media to inspire humanity to return to unity and love instead of contributing to our addiction to violence?
The extremes we are facing require us to make bolder moves to correct the patterns that brought us here. If there was any industry aware enough to use collaboration for the higher good of all and courageous enough to make such a stand, it is those of actors and filmmakers.
We all have the power to redirect the consciousness of humanity to a focus on our infinite capacity to love and heal. We can look to the choices we make and the actions we take to ensure they are feeding our souls and hearts instead of igniting our fear-addicted minds. We can — and must — use our gifts to lift us to higher realms of possibility in truth and love.
Nancy Furst