Lots of thoughts surrounding the terrible act of violence in Connecticut. This morning I was thinking how hard it must be for all parents to send their little ones off to school as usual. This situation, like many others, has stripped us of feeling secure in the places we should feel most secure.
I find myself mesmerized by the details that slowly emerge about Friday's incident. Its sickening and horrifying, and I hate to read it, but I find myself most drawn to the stories about the acts of courage and heroism. I try to avoid reading about the gunman, as if that will keep him from winning, from being glorified and celebritized. I feel like I owe it to the families to read about their sweet and innocent little ones; how they liked to make cards for their friends or how they were learning Portugese.
Listening to a press conference with the coroner, I was so irritated by one reporter's question, "Is this the worst you've ever seen?" NO SHIT. Of course it is you fool. It made me hate the media. I am struggling with the balance between what information our society needs to know, and what information is just being shared for the sake of having frequent updates. Each news outlet is sure to mention that this is the 2nd worse shooting in our history, as if its a competition and they are offering a challenge to other psychos out there.
You hear a lot about the need to re-evaluate gun laws or the need for tighter security in schools. However, I can't help but think that if there's a will, there's a way, and no legislator or metal detector is going to keep someone from acting out in the worst way possible. I have been humbled by the compassion our President has shown and his graceful words, and I know he is mighty, but he can't do it all.
I think the place we need to start is right in our very own homes. Are we raising children that respect all kinds of life? Are we holding ourselves accountable to check in on a troubled friend? Its much too easy to ignore the hard conversation of encouraging someone to seek help, or to just cross our fingers that our kids understand how very important it is to treat everyone with respect, but what if we took a more active role? What if we each vowed to do our part and to soften our hearts to the people we encounter each day. I think the changes we can make by plugging in to our own families and communities is much more powerful than any legislation or improved security measures.
While listening to the radio, I heard a phrase that really stuck in my mind: "Cover your children in prayer." How can we be sure that our loved ones will be safe throughout their day? We can't. But we can be sure to send our loved ones out the door with words that bless their hearts and protect their spirits.
Realizing that the power to change is in our very own backyards (not in Washington) gives me a little bit of hope that our society isn't doomed.
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