Like many citizens of the world, I have been horrified at
what happened last Friday at that small school in Newtown.
As a parent with two adult children I can’t even begin to
imagine how the parents of the victims – both children and teachers - must be
feeling. That it all happened just
before Christmas just deepens the tragedy.
How do you get over something like this?
The answer I fear is that you don’t. As I looked at the photos of the children –
they seemed so alive, active and happy.
One little guy looked like a bundle of fun and pure mischief. How can his parents ever fill that void in
their hearts where they held him so close? I grieve for the families involved
and hope that with time their pain will lessen.
Perhaps because I grew up in the UK where our police
officers don’t carry guns, I have to question why the rules in North America
are so lax. Anyone can get a gun, and
they do. All these shootings of late
just prove that there have to be stricter rules about gun ownership.
When someone suggested that if the principal had
had a gun, the outcome could have been different – I’d say yes, a lot
worse. Imagine a young child “playing”
with that same gun and shooting a friend by mistake. No. I
don’t believe having more access to guns so you can “protect yourself” is the
answer.
You have to hope that both Democrats and Republicans in the
States can put their differences aside, and for once, take action for the
common good. They need to come together
to do something about gun control and about the mental health system. And it has to be both; doing one without the other won’t
work.
There are too many people out in the community with serious
mental health issues that are just like a time bomb waiting to explode. We need affordable programs and services to
identify and treat them. And I am not
sure prescribing strong anti-depressant drugs is the answer either. Too often patients take themselves off the
drugs cold turkey and the outcome can be tragic.
As parents we also have a role to play in terms of what our
children watch, read and play. Too many
movies, TV shows and video games are focused on violent activities. We have a responsibility to censor these activities;
otherwise children become insensitive to the violence around them.
I remember years ago touring a social housing complex in
Chicago, where the psychologist explained to us that every day someone was
murdered in the complex and as a result, when children heard a gun shot, they
didn’t run away but carried on with what they were doing. It was a regular occurrence and they were
desensitized to it all.
We must not get like that, where we take for granted that
shootings will happen. We need to take
action now while the memory of December 14 is still with us. Only then will there be a positive outcome
from this tragedy.
