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Loss of personal connections is the problem

Since the horrific shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14th, our nation has been inundated with news stories about children’s lives cut tragically short, families devastated, heroic teachers dead, and a community forever scarred. We have heard how guns have to go. Gun laws must change. Is this the price we must pay to enjoy our Second Amendment rights?

We have heard how guns are the answer. Guns in the hands of teachers will solve the problem. More security at schools, more officers with more guns, more citizens with more guns. Expand the conceal/carry laws, that will make us all safer and crime will be reduced and if anyone tries to get into a school with the worst of intentions, that person will be blown to smithereens.

But that’s just it. The shooter. Who is “the shooter”? The shooter is someone’s son or daughter, someone’s family member. It’s a loss for them too. Why does a person find themselves behind an automatic weapon with multiple clips pointed at anyone, let alone children?

We have become a society that doesn’t value personal connection. We connect through texting, the Internet, and social media. You could rightly argue that these things bring us together. But to me, it seems we’ve perfected the art of connecting with someone halfway around the world, but we’ve lost the art of connecting with people in our own communities, sometimes people in our own homes. So we can get rid of guns, we can arm ourselves to the gills, we can spend billions on “security,” or we can spend something of real value — time — with each other. Face to face, no phones, no computers, making sure that everyone knows that shooting someone isn’t an answer and that somebody cares.

Save the shooter, Save ourselves.

Scott Frillman

Antioch

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