More Innocents Lost: When Will It End?
A child's innocence is the one gift, that once stolen, can never be replaced.”
― Jaeda DeWalt
My granddaughter started school this past fall to quite a fanfare. Lots of photos, a quick Facetime over breakfast with Mimi and Pop Pop, and the whole family (Mom, Dad, and little sister) accompanying the procession to the classroom door.
Grace is the eldest of my three precious grandchildren. At three years old, her parents decided Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings would be the easiest transition into Pre-K 3 or prekindergarten for 3-year-olds (for those of us who didn’t start school until kindergarten.)
As a child born shortly before the pandemic, with both parents working from home, she is pretty attached to her Mama and Baba. Living out of state with no family nearby, they are usually together. So it was assumed that she would need time to adjust.
She enjoyed the first week so much that she requested to go daily, even on weekends. After explaining the school schedule (including weekends and holidays off) and recognizing her ardent enthusiasm, they decided to send her full-time Monday through Friday.
Because she and her sister were breastfed for a year, their mother couldn't be gone from them for long. So I was afraid her initial enthusiasm would wane after a few days away from home.
Boy, was I wrong!
Grace loves everything about school: the library, music, art, and gym class. She's bright for her age, learning the alphabet and counting even before enrolling in pre-K 3. My son reads to her every night before bedtime. The only things she dislikes about school are the weekends when she can't go.
Watching this unfold, I began to consider (and remember) how young children think and feel about their lives and everything in it. It’s all a given. Life is simplistic, and no further analysis is required.
As a small kid, I remember thinking that my parents knew everything, could fix any problem that arose and had unlimited amounts of money. That level of naiveté is equal parts heartwarming and mind-boggling. Too bad we have to grow up and learn the realities of life and the limits of human nature.
They have no concept of death or what it means in concrete terms. Usually, their experience with end-of-life (if they have any) centers around ‘old people.’ To a child, anyone over 40 is elderly, and aging and death are so far in their own future that it doesn’t really exist. Of course, a year lasted forever back then.
They hear the stories of their birth and watch with great interest the developing baby brother or sister inside Mommy’s tummy. But they don’t make the connection between the beginning of life and its ultimate end. That comes much later and increases with each passing year.
So, for those small children who experience the loss of a parent or someone their own age, the confusion must be blinding and unthinkable. I can’t imagine what it would do to Grace.
That’s unthinkable for me.
In a recent conversation about America’s gun violence epidemic, my daughter-in-law Rebecca told me about Grace’s first Open House at school, also known as ‘Meet the Teachers.’
She described walking down the hall and admiring the colorful artwork by students hung on the walls. There were also festive decorations created by dedicated teachers. It was bright and cheerful, exuding a sense of organization and purpose.
“What a wonderful place for Gracie to spend her days. With new friends and people who care about her future,” Rebecca recalled thinking.
Then she and my son turned a corner and approached their daughter’s classroom. She could see the tiny desks in neat rows. On each desk was a rainbow banner with the child’s name identifying who sat there. The desk just inside the room framed by the doorway held a banner that read ‘Grace.’
Rebecca was looking hard at me as she spoke, and the chilling realization crept into my mind as she continued:
“All I could think of in that moment,” she said, “Was that if an active shooter got to her classroom before any alarms went off, she’d be the first one killed.”
Please, God, make it stop.
Please help open the eyes of every voter in our country to see the light so that together we can turn ‘thoughts and prayers’ into common sense and actual prevention of the continued slaughter of innocents.
The only hope is our vote, something else that is under attack in this country.
Every American must step up and demand common sense gun reform. But how do we convince them?
Below is a post by
He is an American political and corporate strategist, media commentator, and founder of The Warning.
Some people love him, and some don’t. In my opinion, his posts are insightful and educational, oftentimes referencing history. I appreciate the fact that he doesn’t sugarcoat his thoughts. His style is direct, in your face, and brutally honest.
Below are his thoughts from May 9 regarding the latest gun massacre. I agree with him on this topic. Maybe you will too.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
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Powerful and poignant post. I immediately went to Steve's account and read the two of his posts and the comments that alluded to gun ownership and massacres in the States.
As an Australian, where our gun ownership is heavily controlled and where gun amnesties happen frequently so that people can hand in guns, I'm aghast at the Republicans, the NRA and the 2nd Amendment.
My heart goes out to every American child. And what American family doesn't have their hearts in their throats every single day? Anxiety levels must be horrendous!
I have this awful gut feeling that in the end, it'll take a kind of civil revolution and the implications of that with the MAGA in existence are terrifying.
Such a great post - but oh gosh, such awful things to think about. News of US school shootings hits the bulletins here in UK, and every time it is such a shock. We have had one incidence of this - in Dunblane, Scotland, in 1996 - but nothing in a school after the post-Dunblane gun reform.
I absolutely loved this line of your post: 'The only things she dislikes about school are the weekends when she can't go.' How absolutely lovely! 😊