Who could DO that?

I have not, until this moment, stated anything online about the school shooting in Connecticut last Friday. My Facebook newsfeed was filled with prayers, pictures of lit candles, NRA bashing, and gun-rights assertions.

I understand the urge to recognize the horror and tragedy of the event. I have 2 young children. I even work in an elementary school, and yet I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for the community of Sandy Hook Elementary School. I just felt that for me, putting my thoughts and reactions on facebook or anywhere else for that matter, would not make me feel better, or do anything other than demonstrate to some friends that I had been affected. I did make a donation here because I wanted to do something, even if small and anonymous.

I honestly don't know if taking away all the guns is the answer.  It's certainly easier than trying to treat mental illness. I'm not trying to sound glib, but my first thought when hearing that someone had broken into a school and shot young children was, "Who could DO that?" The only answer I could think of is someone who is so disconnected from society and from a sense of right and wrong, that they can't fathom the consequences of their actions. Maybe someone who feels otherwise powerless. If we could help those people, it wouldn't matter who had a gun.

Naive and over-simplistic. This is a complicated problem for society. But where and how we focus our attentions and efforts does make a difference. Incarceration has not helped the "War on Drugs."  "No Child Left Behind" and "The Race to the Top" have caused many excellent teachers to retire. The Health Care Act deals with how to get more people insurance, but not how to make healthcare more affordable. (I believe there is a difference.) I am increasingly frustrated with the lack of vision, compassion, and leadership in our government. I'll probably write more about that in a future post.

That's one thing that has been on my mind today.