CULLMAN —
When Cullman Police Chief Kenny Culpepper asked the question, “Can we save everyone?”, the answer was a sobering, “Probably not.”
Standing before a crowd of educators last week to go over plans for increasing safety at area schools, in the aftermath of the shooting deaths in Newtown, Conn., Culpepper and other law enforcement officials joined with school personnel in reviewing plans and offering some new methods of protecting students and teachers.
Some of the measures include reinforced doors with stronger glass and classroom doors with deadbolts — all delaying actions that could save lives while police speed toward a potential outbreak of violence at a school.
The scene in Cullman is similar to what is happening across the nation. Officials and parents are working closely to find ways to stop or reduce the carnage of a gunman bursting into a school.
There was a time when many communities felt immune from the horrible scenes that were reported in Oregon, Colorado and most recently Connecticut. But Americans are seeing that no place in the country is guaranteed a pass from such violence.
Many of the crimes committed against children in schools, or a movie theater or shopping mall, have been unfolding in some of the most peaceful settings in the nation. The motivation for the violence is unclear. Investigations have shown that some of the individuals responsible for the crimes were loners, struggling to fit into society. Many of the shooters were also known their academic excellence and abilities to be something more than what they eventually became in life.
Some people blame reductions in mental health care, violent video games, movies and television shows, the decline of the American family, and the easy availability of weapons designed for mass destruction. The more narrow view focus on one issue, but all indications point to a variety of causes behind the violence.
Communities are being forced to create fortresses to protect their children, and under the circumstance that is appropriate. But attention should be turned to the issues — all of them — that appear to be driving senseless violence into our lives.
Editorials
EDITORIAL: Lurking behind the violence
- Editorials
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Taking the lead in education
The once-heralded ‘No Child Left Behind” education initiative from the federal level has just about run out of gas.
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Moving into the future
Hundreds of local high school seniors are accepting their diplomas and preparing to turn the page in the next chapter of their lives.
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Editorial: Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
This amounts to spying on an American news organization -- common practice in dictatorships but scary conduct in a democratic system that prizes the public value of an independent watchdog press.
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EDITORIAL: The IRS' Turn to Answer Questions
Washington is now sinking its teeth into a real scandal: the Internal Revenue Service using ideological criteria to choose the targets of its attention.
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Editorial: The house of death
The grisly details emerging from the murder trial of a Philadelphia abortion doctor place a glaring spotlight on a national disgrace.
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Editorial: Murder, insanity and guns
James Holmes, the accused movie theater shooter in Colorado, would like for the public to believe he killed a dozen people because he was insane.
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Lasting partnerships
Economic development officials have long noted the importance of expansions by existing industries and businesses in a community to lead growth.
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COMMENTARY: Why does young adult fiction keep giving its heroines makeovers?
Over at This Ain't Living, s.e. smith (who, full disclosure, has guest-blogged for me at ThinkProgress) has an excellent post about one of the most pernicious trends in young adult fiction.
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A spirit for moving forward
This weekend marked the two-year anniversary of a deadly day of tornadoes that streaked across Alabama, claiming lives and property and changing the landscape of many communities.
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Faith and bombs
The investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing is pointing to the all-too-familiar theme of religious faith playing a major role in violence.
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Taking the lead in education
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