Sandy Hook A Nation Sends Sincere Condolences to Victims Familes

There's a productive way to honor the innocents murdered on December 13, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School by a seriously mentally ill perpetrator.  It's called prevention.

An upcoming anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre of elementary school children and their teachers is fast approaching. This entirely preventable human tragedy is now focused on a release of the 9-11 emergency tape recordings containing transmissions between victims and dispatchers. But this exercises won't prevent future school shootings.  

On the anniversary of the school shooting in Connecticut that left 20 first-graders and six adults murdered, one way to grasp the full tragedy of this all-American town is by tracing the ordinary day that led up to it.  So, that's what some are doing.  They're recreating the events of the day. But, instead of retracing what happened, an exercise that won't change anything, the real debriefing should be on prevention.  

While our nation mourns the one year anniversary of this preventable tragedy, the community erased the symbol of the entire event by destroying the building where the murders occurred.  Although this is understandable, given the scope of the heinous tragedy, it's also a way to keep the event out of future memories. "Out of sight out of mind," so to speak. 

There's one honest way to  honor, remember and tribute those who were innocently murdered on December 13, 2012.  Preventing all future preventable firearms homicides is the best way to extend to those victims families our sincere condolences. 

Americans will, no doubt, do due diligence on December 13, 2013, in remembering the one year anniversary.  No doubt, there will be a moment of silence in many Connecticut communities.  

Nevertheless, nothing else will have changed to improve gun safety in America. Guns continue to perpetrate needless mayhem while politicians are terrified to stand up against the dangers caused by the preventable public heath hazard caused by firearms.  

Now that the Sandy Hook school building doesn't exist, the memory of the killing event will quickly become part of the town's silent history. It's typical for people to avoid any reference to the murders, because it's just too sacred a memory to mention, without doing more harm.  It makes sense to take down the school building because it's more of an unusual attraction than a memory.  Yet, memories fade quickly in the absence of symbols.

Taking down the building will prevent ghouls frome visiting the scene. But, the lack of prevention will, sadly, eventually cause harm. Some other unsuspecting community will relive the Sandy Hook experience, because nothing has been done to prevent a repeat or copy-cat incident by another deranged person who has access to guns. 

While our condolences go out to the Sandy Hook victims families, we must also extend our apologies to these sad people. Their extraordinary loss hasn't produced a change in America's infatuation with the deadly impact of guns. I'm so sorry.