HJAR Jan/Feb 2023

This fall, news channels across the state reported Arkansas has the fourth highest rate of violent crimes in the U.S. Violence is a public health issue. Sustained cortisol levels from “fight or flight” are simply not healthy. I would like to ask all creative types to start making public service announcements educating us on ways to live better. Deliver your artwork to traditional media, swarm them on social media, scream them from the rooftops, plaster posters in public spaces. I came up with one with the tag-line, “Make it STOP in our lifeTIME.” I am pretty sure you all can do better than my attempts below, but maybe these will spark your own: VIOLENCE is not NORMAL ~ make it STOP in our lifeTIME BEATINGS HURT ~ make them STOP in our lifeTIME IT’S NOT NORMAL TO BE SCARED IN YOUR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD ~ make it STOP in our lifeTIME STEALING is not cool ~ make it STOP in our lifeTIME The Natural State, along with being one of the most beautiful, should be one of the safest, healthiest, and happiest states in the union. No one should be scared to walk out and watch the moon and the stars; it is a birthright that we seem to have forgotten. I encourage you to soak that thought in for a moment. Really. Let’s regain that birthright. Many of our founding fathers talked of happiness for Americans. When was the last time we, as a community, focused on happiness? Perhaps it is time. Perhaps it can start here. Submitted with deep respect and hope, EDITOR’S DESK 8 JAN / FEB 2023  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS   Dianne Marie Normand Hartley Chief Editor editor@healthcarejournalar.com P.S. The cover is the Journal’s art director Laura Busby’s response to this letter. Her wording made me look to see if violence is actually a “disease.” According to the AMA Journal of Ethics , “Violence is a contagious disease and by treating violence as a contagious disease, the health sector can work to cure it.” Thank you, Laura, for throwing down the gauntlet; if we as an industry accept violence as a disease, our collective brain power can actively go to work to eradicate it – for the betterment of us all.