One Moment, Please... The Guardians

By Jason Sethre
jason@fillmorecountyjournal.com

Fri, Dec 21st, 2012
Posted in All Commentary

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As the father of two beautiful children, ages five and eight, I cannot imagine what the parents of those 20 murdered Sandy Hook Elementary School children must be feeling today. Their healing will only come with time, and maybe never.

Since the school shooting in Connecticut on Friday, December 14, there hasn’t been a day that has gone by in which I haven’t read an article or seen a report on TV regarding this horrific event. While I would like to refrain from getting consumed by what I continually refer to as the sensationalism of national media, I also can’t help but to vicariously reconnect with parents I have never met. Their pain is our pain.

Each day, as I look at our two children, whether getting them ready for the bus stop or bedtime, my eyes well a bit.

I can’t imagine my life without them.

This will be an especially difficult Christmas for those parents of Newtown, CT. And while they mourn, our nation mourns.

We mourn the loss of our own innocence. We could never believe something like this could happen to us. And, we never believed anything like what happened on September 11, 2001, would happen in our country. Yet, it did.

Our first instinct is to find out why; to place blame.

Is it video games? Is violence in the movies? Is it a need for better gun control? Is it a mental health issue? Is it a school security issue?

There will be many questions answered in the days ahead as we try to find solace in solutions.

In late November, my wife and I took our children to the JEM Movie Theater to see the movie Rise of the Guardians. This movie revolved around Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Mr. Sandman, and Jack Frost. Their purpose was to protect the dreams and imaginations of children. If children believed in them, the Guardians would bring joy and hope.

After we arrived home following the conclusion of the movie, we put our kids to bed. As I sat by my daughter’s bedside, we talked about the movie, and she said, “Daddy, I know you and mommy are our guardians. You protect us.”

Ultimately, following this devastating event at Sandy Hook Elementary School, I think we all have one common goal in mind: we must protect our children.

After all, we are their guardians. They need for us to make the right decisions to protect them.

I just hope we make the right decisions. Our children are counting on us.

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