Historically, our local newspaper in SE Kansas, the Parsons Sun, has responsibly included Public Mind articles and other publications concerning humankind’s struggle with an array of tragedies. None the least, the unspeakably horrific massacre carried out on May 24, 2022 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
And as various political leaders and others choose to use such pain and suffering for self-serving gain, growing numbers of others (especially within younger generations) fearfully, hopelessly, but nevertheless “mistakenly,” consider such atrocities to be an unpreventable norm. While others among us hold the view that murder of our school children “is not” in America’s DNA, and we so-called adults-in-the-room should have long ago insisted—and must now demand—that “commonsense security” be established and unfailingly enforced at “all” of our educational institutions.
Yes, we must immediately cease leaving the lives of our school children and others at the mercy of Gun Free Zone signs; unrealistic promises of preventing evil-doers’ access to their weapons of choice; and other ill-conceived “thou shall nots” which evil-doers care less about. Instead, we must employ commonsense security including an effective mix of unrelentingly enforced “pro-active” and “reactive” measures. Security acknowledging and responsibly addressing the basic “Rules of Survival.” That is, one must be willing and able to: (1.) timely “recognize” true threats to one’s survival; and (2.) not only “have,” but also “timely execute” effective pro-active and reactive defenses against such.
Common sense further dictates that responsible design of effective school security can also benefit from lessons-learned by way of various related and long-standing human behaviors. For example, when faced with real and/or perceived threats, it is noteworthy that most if not all surviving nations, many successful businesses, an array of political leaders, as well as countless private citizens, etc., have long responded with both “preventative (pro-active)” and “defensive (reactive)” measures that include properly trained and equipped “armed personnel.” Supplemented of course by available and as deemed applicable use of state-of-the-art security systems technology, etc.
It is further noteworthy that not so long ago the curriculum of many of our schools responsibly included gun use, safety, marksmanship, etc. Seemingly much simpler days, since replaced by times when a simple hand-drawn picture of a weapon has been the basis of expulsion efforts. As generations are now increasingly overwhelmed with access to legal/ill-legal drugs that are not only mood/mind-altering but often life-threatening; dehumanizing video games entailing make-believe terrorism; and social media technology that can encourage the most anti-social and otherwise destructive sides of humankind.
And also worthy of our special concern, the false security depicted by the Gun Free Zone signs on doors of our schools has not only served to encourage the evil-doers, such void of common sense signage has also served as a “daily indoctrination” of attending youth and adults with the anti-U.S. Constitution Second Amendment message that “guns are bad.” Yes, the same generations that will one day occupy the seats of political power and otherwise responsibility throughout our ever-so-challenged nation. —William James Moore
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[The above was also included in the Public Mind section on page 4 of the Parsons Sun’s Weekend, Saturday-Sunday, June 11-12, 2022 Edition.]