Bless The Little Children, Lord

To lose a child ... was something that could end one's world. One could never get back to how it was before. The stars went out. The moon disappeared. The birds became silent.
~Alexander McCall Smith, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency~

Last week's tragic massacre at Sandy Hooks Elementary School in Newtown CT has had a profound effect on everyone I know.  Those with little ones of their own are hugging them a little tighter and a lot more often.  Those of us with grown children are a little more grateful.  Parents should never outlive their children but it happens.  I can only imagine that it's the worse thing that could ever happen to a mother or father.

I have to wonder, though, is losing a child in such a horrendous way any more tragic than losing one through accident or disease?  Not to diminish this or any other massacre, but isn't the real tragedy in the lost itself rather than how they were lost?  Could it be that the sheer numbers of those loss at one time is a source of our devastation and outrage?  Obviously, another source would be that such a thing could even happen.  What if all the victims had survived?  Wouldn't we all be just as outraged but at the same time, be thankful?

Through my passion for genealogy, I've learned a lot about parents losing children and how fortunate we are to live in this time when it's not the norm for most of us to know someone who has lost a child.  My parents and grandparents never lost a child but my great-grandparents lost 3 children in 3 years.  My great-great-grandparents lost 2 children and my 3rd-great-grandparents lost 2.  How tragic for all of them.

Our children are so very precious to us and to the world.  They are our future, our hope and our immortality.  As long as they live, a piece of us lives within them.  To lose them diminishes something within us - our light, our hopes and dreams, our very life force.

While it's true that we need to find a way to bring back a sense of security to our children, we also need to remember that in many cases, the perpetrators of these vile and despicable acts are usually children themselves.  What of them?  How did they get that way and how can we stop the perpetuation of more of the same?  What are we doing wrong?

Perhaps it's time to kick the government out of our parenting business.  Children are told that they can report their parents if they're disciplined in a way that various government agencies deem abusive. And it's not just the government - so many parents today are falling down on the job.  Children aren't taught that actions have consequences or to respect other people's rights and feelings.  Someway, somehow, we have to find a way to turn things around.  If we don't, what do we have to look forward to?

God bless the little children.