Tragedy compels us to examine ourselves

With less than a week having passed since the incomprehensible massacre that occurred Dec. 14 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, there isn’t much more to say at this writing that hasn’t already been said in countless conversations, in print, on television and radio programs. For those of us who are not directly connected to the Newtown community, there may be a sense of numbness and a desire to avoid the news altogether as the funerals continue and affected families begin their long and painful recovery. If you’ve decided to turn off your television, computer or radio, you certainly aren’t alone.In Colebrook, Torrington and Winsted, heartfelt and well-attended vigils were held this week to honor the 20 first-graders and six adults at the school who fell victim to a gunman’s deadly rage. It was expected that this morning, Dec. 21, at 9:30 a.m., exactly a week after the massacre, communities across the country would participate in a moment of silence as churches rang their bells 27 times in honor of all victims, including the killer’s mother but excluding him.Additional memorial services were scheduled to happen in New Hartford and Barkhamsted this week, while communities across the state and country shared their sorrow and disbelief. While the horror is still too much for many people to imagine, community leaders have rightly instructed residents to look to each other for support.President Barack Obama’s emotional address to Newtown residents during a Dec. 16 interfaith service also rang true. “We can’t tolerate this anymore,” he said. “These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change. We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law — no set of laws — can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. But that can’t be an excuse for inaction. Surely, we can do better than this.”Doing better may mean limiting the availability of assault weapons, increasing access to mental health services or providing stronger security measures in our schools. But it is not clear that any one of these measures would have stopped last week’s tragedy. Community members who have shown an eagerness to cast blame on specific entities — the gun lobby, the schools and the media, to name a few — are missing the big picture. Mass shootings have become a familiar part of our culture, and if we want to stop them, we need to look more closely at ourselves.Though a terrible crime has garnered international headlines, it appears almost certain it was an isolated incident perpetrated by an extremely troubled individual. As the shock from this horrifying episode begins to wear off, important questions will be answered about how and why the Newtown shooting happened. Hopefully the answers will lead to measures that will prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future.