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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Ensure Posterity: Invest in Safety For Comfort

Kathy Kolcaba Crossing Guard in Chagrin Falls, Ohio 2012
“Grandma, Why did the shooter have an automatic rifle?" 

As some of you may know, I am a crossing guard in my small idyllic community, one which is similar (although not as wealthy) as Newtown, Connecticut.  

After the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook, Connecticut, last Friday, December 10, 2012, my eight grandchildren, who all live locally, dealt with their thoughts and emotions over the weekend.

I don’t know how their parents told them about the carnage, nor how their discussions progressed into questions. But this morning, one of my grandsons crossed at his usual spot where I am posted with my big STOP sign and my neon jacket and hat, designed to get the attention of drivers in a hurry. 

The irony struck me this morning, as I was waiting for my kids to show up, that my motivation for doing this seemed sooo insignificant compared to the FACT that, indeed, we are not  “keeping our children safe” in our nation and my small act of volunteerism was truly insignificant, or at the best symbolic...But anyway, I am there for the kids.

 Listen To Simple Insights

Along came my grandson, right on time, animatedly talking to me as soon as I was within range. 

“Grandma, why did the shooter have an automatic rifle?  Why are they legal?”  Clearly, he had been thinking about prevention of such an event in the future.
   
“They didn’t used to be legal,” I said.  Clearly, I heard the voice of pure reason here; maybe HIS generation can do something about this.

He continued, “Why does anyone NEED an automatic rifle?” 

My feeble reply, “They aren’t for hunting, that’s for sure.”   And he walked on...puzzled. 

A Call For Leadership Accountability 

Please, America; please, fellow health care workers, please, Right to Lifers...let’s help our politicians find courage to protect the lives of our born children. And for those of you who belong to the NRA, please help your leaders think about the safety of our grandchildren in their schools. This shooter had body armor, for heavens sake, and he easily bypassed the “safety” measures the school had innocently followed. 

The preamble to our U.S. Constitution states,
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Invest in Safety For Comfort 

Safety and comfort are not the same thing, but safety IS a necessary condition for comfort. 

Can any citizen be ever truly comfortable again, if we continue to do this to ourselves?

What do you think? How did this tragic event affect how you think about safety and comfort where you live? Leave your comments below, I'd like to know what has changed for you?

 - Kathy Kolcaba

Find, Friend and Share Comfort Is Strength!
Copyright 2012 Katharine Kolcaba, RN, MSN, PhD. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Katharine Kolcaba, RN, MSN, PhD, The Comfort Line, Chagrin Falls, Ohio 44022. E-mail: kathykolcaba@yahoo.com Phone: 440-655-2098 Web: http://thecomfortline.com/

- Betsey Merkel, The Comfort Line and Comfort Is Strength Communications
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Location: Chagrin Falls, OH, USA

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