There is evil in this world. I’ve seen it. I’ve fought against it. I’ve felt it and can tell you that it has a way to let you know it’s there. It exists not only in the Middle East, West Africa, South East Asia, Afghanistan, but its also here in the United States. Evil comes in many forms and you may think I’m talking about terrorism, but I’m not. I’m talking about school shootings.
The solution to stopping these horrible violent acts is simple, and to me obvious. Rather than arguing about guns, mental health, the role of psychiatric drugs and violence in movies and video games we should be focusing on protecting our children. Schools are soft targets that need to be hardened. We did it swiftly and unanimously with airports and aircraft after the terror attacks of 9/11. Why isn’t this being done with our schools?
On September 11, 2001 we as a country were attacked and the method and weapon that was used was airplanes. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all commercial flights and did not resume until September 14, 2001. Over the next several weeks and months airports and airplanes underwent a complete security overhaul and the way America travelled via the airline industry changed forever.
The solution the federal government enacted over those few months after 9/11 resulted in the following changes. Shoes and hats had to be taken off when going through security. Liquids such as body wash, shampoo and conditioner were limited to 3.4 ounces when stored in carry on luggage. Body scanners started to be used and random screenings began to take place. The door to the cockpit of an aircraft is now permanently locked during flights and passengers have no access. The biggest change, the creation of the department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration and a dramatic increase in the number of Air Marshall’s.
Similar policies and security changes should be implemented in our schools. Access to schools should be limited to one access point with armed personnel and metal detectors. In the interest of fire safety all other doors should be fire doors opening from the internal side only and alarmed. Security personnel should patrol the hallways and the grounds actively as a deterrent to potential threats. Finally all authorized students, teachers, staff and parents should be issued identification allowing access to the building. No ID. No entrance.
President Trump and his administration have floated the idea of arming teachers in schools to protect our kids. Although I do agree that teachers should be allowed to carry firearms in schools, I do not agree that they should be the first line of defense for our kids. Our children deserve better than a 60 year old English teacher with no firearms training. Our kids deserve good men or women capable of doing violent things without hesitation. Men and women trained to protect and defend our most precious of things, our children. Frankly, men like me.
The problem lies with political will. For 9/11 we had it and it changed the way we as a country flew commercially. For school shootings we have not found it and our children are dying as a result. There is evil in this world and it always finds a way to rear its ugly head. It’s up to good men and women to defend the innocent and those who can’t defend themselves. This includes our politicians. They are failing us by not hardening our schools. They are failing us because they use the deaths of the innocent for political gain.
Bobby