As a person I am horrified, shocked, and deeply wounded. As a teacher I am scared, worried, and want to hug my kids. As a Christian I want to weep with those who suffer, but I am moved to action. We are called to make this world "as it is in heaven.," and myself and many others are wondering how to do that in the face of the Connecticut tragedy.
While I would be fine with an assault weapons ban, fine with bullet-proof glass on the doors and windows of all schools, as well as putting a police officer on duty at every school, those are just ways to treat the symptoms of a disease. We are a fallen people with imperfect minds and bodies, and so often when we solve one problem, we create many more. We won't cure this disease alone with the aforementioned changes, but I think there are things we can do to help.
A few weeks ago in my classroom, I allowed students to bring their portable gaming systems or cell phones to play with during an advisory where we did not have anything else to do. Some of these gaming systems will connect to each other so that the two students can play with and/or against each other. I like to sit and watch them in their social time for entertainment and educational purposes, and I remember one student asked another, "Can we connect?"
In another generation, that might have been a question that, though forced and awkward, would have warranted two individuals sitting down to share their thoughts, feelings, dreams and fears, creating an enduring friendship and real community. I don't want to rail against the evils of technology (this is a blog after all). But I think this idea of having a real connection with someone, as opposed to connecting through Nintendo DS and a USB wire, is a real human need that we are losing in a crowded society without real human connection. The symptoms of these lack of connections are many, but after hearing about nearly every mass gunmen being a "social recluse" lost in computer games and internet anonymity, I can't help but see a correlation (which of course does not always equal causation) between a lack of human connection and real community and the increase of mass shootings here in the US.
We all have people in our lives who are on the same spectrum as Adam Lanza, Seung-Hui Choi, or James Holmes. Yes, they are the most difficult to connect with, and it is much easier on us to leave them be. But as a Christian and an ethical educator, I believe it is our duty to give the people in our lives a reason to share emotional and social common ground with the people around them. The good Samiritan went to the injured traveler while the holy men crossed to the other side of the street to avoid him. Jesus climbed up a tree to invite a tax collector into his home for dinner. Mother Teresa spent time with the sick and ostracized, but we have those same opportunities every day. Whether it is the guy in the office down the hallway who always eats lunch alone, or the student that doesn't have any friends, we have a responsibility to the stigmatized among us to love them, to be a community,and to give them real connection. We shouldn't do this to stop mass shootings, but because we are called to love our neighbor as ourself, but hopefully the fruit of that love will bring more peace to the world.
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