Please fight back

Since Friday afternoon - when I first heard about the Sandy Hook massacre – I have founght overwhelming feelings of sadness, anger, and despair. Sadness at the state of our humanity. Anger that more has not been done to protect those children and others to come. Despair at the complexity of the problem.

I know, as I write this column, that most of you share these feelings. Of course we don't all agree on the solutions - indeed, I'm sure we're about to have a lively political debate on what to do next. I welcome this debate. I hope this debate IS indeed, lively, and further hope that we don't forget - that we don't EVER forget. Not this time.

I dedicate this blog today to the little victims of Sandy Hook Elementary and to their heroic teachers. Let’s take a moment to look at their pictures and memorize their names (you can find them here: http://tinyurl.com/lhrvictims )

We weren't there to protect those children with our lives. We didn't use our bodies as shields like Anne Marie Murphy. We didn't desperately try to send the coward elsewhere like Victoria Soto. We didn't run towards danger disregarding our own safety like Dawn Hochsprung and Mary Sherlach. We weren't there to do anything at all - and were powerless to protect the victims or their families from unimaginable grief. Regardless, there is much that we can do right from we are. We can take the time to THINK - searching the depths of our consciences to understand where we truly stand. We can fight our discomfort and ENGAGE in civil yet honest conversations, expressing our views and listening to others. We can ENGAGE even when others' views make our skin crawl and our blood boil. This is, after all, too important of a time for any of us to retreat into the safety of our own unchallenged beliefs.  

Finally, once we feel that we have a better understanding of this complex problem – one that defies simple solutions – we can gather the courage to LEAD. We LEAD even if we lack the formal authority or mandate to participate in government discussions. We LEAD, even if we do not belong to formal think tanks. We LEAD by making our voices known - loudly. We LEAD by organizing others. We persevere - no matter what. We take ownership of our broken society and we refuse to be silenced.

I should be wishing Happy Holidays to our community this week. Instead, I leave you with three words.

Please. Fight. Back.