Are we really safe?

The last few days have been quite stressful for me as a teacher.  Not only have I been preparing myself and my students for the end of the semester (final projects, final exams, etc.), but I have also had to deal with what happened on Friday in Newtown, Connecticut.  The entire nation is again in shock at the horror of this latest mass shooting.

As is typical, we are asking all kinds of questions, demanding answers, and wondering how another tragedy like this can be prevented.  People from both sides of the gun control debate are offering solutions.  Religious leaders blame the lack of faith, the rise of godlessness, and the removal of God from the schools.  Politicians and others blame parents, the lack of access to mental health care, and more.

Everyone is demanding an easy answer, and many answers have been proposed from all over the spectrum of those responding.

The thing is, there IS an easy answer, but it isn't the one we want.

How can we prevent tragedies like this from happening again?  We can't.  That's the easy answer, but as I said, it isn't the one we want.

Because I was raised in the Christian tradition, I believe that our world and our flesh is NOT inherently good, but inherently evil.  The New American Standard translation of Psalm 51:5 reads, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me."  Sin (iniquity) is part of our world, part of our nature.

Anyone who has been around young children for any amount of time should know that we have to teach them how to be unselfish, kind, and polite.  Children are naturally selfish.  They throw tantrums when they don't get what they want.  They grab.  They hit.  They cry.  These behaviors are not learned; they come naturally.  Sharing, caring for others, and all of the other acceptable behaviors must be taught.

We can pass all the laws we want, we can regulate guns, we can allow teachers to carry concealed weapons, we can do any number of things to make us feel secure, but it won't change human nature.  Someone will still find a way to bring about mass tragedy.  Many have noted that it is easier to obtain the ingredients for a bomb than it is to get a gun.  Locally, a house was blown up, killing 2 people and displacing hundreds of people.

We can point the finger of blame at any number of specific causes, but ultimately the blame rests on human nature.  If we don't perpetrate such horrible crimes, we glorify or minimize them.  Sensationalizing and glorifying such acts encourages those who seek the attention.  Minimizing violence creates a sense of apathy to our fellow men.

Perhaps the problem of minimizing such actions results from the fact that unless we are directly, personally affected by any kind of tragedy, it is easy to move on with our own lives.  My daily life isn't directly affected by the shootings, my daily life wasn't affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Sandy, I don't have a family member who is deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.  Without a direct connection to such tragedies, we can get over it much sooner than those directly affected by it.

I don't feel unsafe in my daily life.  I don't worry about whether a crazed gunman will enter my school building.  I don't imagine a drunk driver will plow into my vehicle as I drive throughout the city.  I don't expect a devastating tornado to reduce my home to smithereens.  I'm not guaranteed safety any more than anyone else is.  Honestly, I don't think about my safety very often.  Perhaps I should.  Will worrying about how safe I am make me safer?  Not likely.  I can just pray for God's protection and trust that his will is done in my life.