sorry for the silence

my blog has been quiet.  there's lots to write about, but with the events in Newtown, i decided to be silent for a while.  not only was my heart broken on that day for all those kids, teachers, and families, but i became really scared.  if some crazy guy can go into a school and kill innocent children, then no where is safe.

we should be safe at school.

we should be safe at church/synagogue.

we should be safe at movie theaters.

we should be safe at grocery stores.

i could go on and on about the number of places we should be safe.  i don't feel safe.  i felt this way after 9/11, but it's worse now.  i worry about my safety.  i worry about alex's safety.  i worry about the safety of the small children i work with everyday.  i worry about friends and family.

 it's not just a matter of worrying about being killed.  it's about the loss of innocence.  i look at the faces of my students (all 4 years old).  they should NEVER in their lifetime know what it feels like to see their friends, loved ones, etc. killed before their eyes.  they should not feel the pain that so many have felt from these senseless killings.

then politics have to get involved.  everyone is talking about gun control.  the NRA is in the spotlight.  i'm a liberal.  i don't like guns.  but, i don't think that is what we should be talking about right now.  the problem is bigger than guns.  i know if this whacko didn't have access to those guns this might have been prevented.  but that does not change the fact that he was a whacko.  he could have made a bomb in his basement and blew up the school.  there are a number of things he could have done without guns.  sure, maybe we need to look at gun control, but i don't think that will solve these mass killings of innocent people in places that should be safe.  it's an issue bigger than guns.

with all that said, i don't know the solution.  when i was working on my Masters, i did a project for a class about parent accountability in the school shootings that had happened to that point (2001/2002).  we looked at columbine, kentucky, jonesboro, etc.  we looked at what part the parents played in these shootings.  where were they?  why didn't they know what their kids were doing?  should they be held responsible for those who died?  i believe a part of it does have to do with the parents, but how do we as a country regulate that?  how do we make people be "better" parents?  once again, this is not the solution to the big problem.

i'm saddened by this tragedy.  those poor children.  those poor mommies and daddies who lost their sweet children on that day.  those brave teachers who protected the children left in their care.  you are all in my thoughts everyday.