For my paradigm shift topic, I will be focusing on the shift in the prevalence of mental health issues, while also focusing on how the increased terror attacks within the US have contributed to this. My timeline starts in the 1920s with a TNT bombing and then follows an 20 year increment structure throughout the essay, up until present day. The main idea of my topic is that the terror attacks didn’t increase per say, but they became less and less personally driven which directly causes anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues to exponentially increase throughout the years. In the early 1900s, most of the terror attacks in the US were carried out via personal vendettas. Something made someone mad, they took it personally, and then caused whoever made them mad direct harm. But, as we move through the years, the terror attacks become less personal and this gradual shift is seen with the bombing of the Statue of Liberty by Croatian separatists. The shift does a complete 180 when we get to the attacks of 9/11, and then continuously grows into more and more acts of mindless killings with school shooters.
I chose to explore this specific shift because I think this is a good start for me to become involved with the March For Our Lives movement. I did choose to participate in the silent walkout last year in high school, but I think that one of the best things that can be done in a situation like this where legislation is really not budging, is in the mean time, look at all of the factors contributing to the issue (mass school shootings) and find out how to intervene. My timeline ultimately ends at present day where we are in the age of school shootings and have the highest (recorded) amounts of people being diagnosed with anxiety and depression, and I think these issues affect everyone on a day-to-day basis whether they’re seeing terrorism on the news or actually struggling with mental health issues which is why their attention would absolutely be warranted. Lastly, the 3 sub-categories as an added 3rd layer will focus on technology, cultural movements, and laws (airport security) and how these categories have contributed to the rise in reported mental health issues and how they actually change our perception of terrorism to increase the mental illness percentages.