On my desk sits a disturbing article with equipment or children to protect them against a potential shooter. God, I hate that word, for it does not describe what the people are who enter schools with guns really are – killers, murderers.
These so-called bullet-proof shields are for backpacks, notebooks, even clipboards and hoodies. Some are even for desks. Perhaps they’ll stop one bullet or two, but a blast from an AR-15 or gun that’s been made into one with automatic fire? I doubt it.
Congress has, of course, gone home to tell their constituents how great they are while prosecutors look to going after parents who may or may not have provided the weapons their own children used rather than real sensible gun regulation. What’s the closing line of an old anti-war song? “When will we ever learn?”
Prayer for the Day
Unsettled, we struggle with new realities in our lives,
Children in shooter drills, strange new equipment;
Struggling to understand the blithe lies of politicians,
We want to see new directions, not old promises.
Help us, O God, to find answers to the violence we see,
Violence that can be so preventable if we have courage.
In the name of the One who calls us to peace,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
As a parent, and I am now a grandparent, I am very much concerned about my family’s safety, my children’s safety, my grandchildren’s safety and my school community. And not just my school community, but all school communities because what we’re seeing is this continued escalation of violence in schools.
Robin Cogan, a school nurse in South Jersey
Parents are worried about the school’s ability to make these very tough decisions and decisions in emergency situations to where [they ask], ‘Can my school protect my child if there’s an active shooter there? What are the policies? Is all the staff trained?
Gary Nelson, therapist and a father of four
Turn, O Lord! How long? Have compassion on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
So that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us,
And as many years as we have seen evil.
Psalm 90: 13-15