……..The past week has taken my breath away.   It was a harsh reminder of how vulnerable we all are to violence. Once violence was recognizable. Now I’m not so sure it is and I’m not so sure any of us knows how to recognize it.

…… Those of us who were alive when 9/11 occurred will never ever feel the same about our ability to be safe from an avenger.  Nor will we forget where we were when we saw the images of the Twin Towers fall. I was at Mountaineer surrounded by co-workers. Shannon and Missy Reed were operating a preschool when mothers started arriving moments later to take their kids to safety.

…… Not since the Civil War, when brother sometimes fought brother, had we feared an aggressor on our own soil.  World War I and II were fought on foreign soil and I think those who remained at home felt removed from the enemy.  When our veterans came home they kept the horrors of war deep within them and hardly ever shared, unless it was with another veteran.  My own father never once spoke of his experience.    He fought to protect me and perhaps his silence protected me from the terror of war.

…..But 9/11 shattered that wall of security and there is not one of us who can forget what we lost that day.  Many lost loved ones.  Many wanted to simply reach out and hug their loved ones who were far away and beyond their touch.  Our instinct as parents is to protect the children God has given us, but suddenly we realize that we are only human and lack the power to do so.   We lost our complacency that day.

……You can tell, I’m sad and I’m concerned as those same fears infiltrated our schools this week when cyber threats closed the schools.  Kudos to all facets of our law enforcement who acted swiftly.

…… The news tells us of the troubled children out there who resort to violence, but when it hits home I wonder what we as a community can do? We need to leave no stone unturned when it comes to safety measures and procedures.  And, we need to ensure that everyone who deals with children has training in how to spot signs of trouble.  Sometimes, it’s a bus driver who spots aggression.  Sometimes, it’s an aide who notices a child always sits alone at lunch. Sometimes, it’s a custodian who just feels something isn’t right. They say “it takes a village to raise a child.” It seems like today “It takes a village to save a child and those have the potential to do any child harm.” Violence in schools isn’t just a school or law enforcement problem anymore, it’s everyone’s problem.