Donal Mahoney’s new poem “Have You Seen Adam Lanza?” reminded me of the upcoming anniversary of the incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School last year on December 14th.

As a Hardware Genius I helped specify and sell a lot of hardware over the past year to folks involved in increasing school security all over the country, including schools around Newtown, Connecticut.  Indeed the day’s horrific events set off an explosion of sympathy for the families of the victims, whose holidays that year and perhaps for all years to come took on a completely different tone than they had doubtless expected.  Likewise the safety and security people in the security hardware industry redoubled their efforts to find answers to the question, “How can we prevent this from happening again?”  Nationwide, schools are equipping themselves for instantaneous lockdown and running drills designed to protect students from a homicidal intruder.  

Haunting pictures of the troubled young man, Adam Lanza, are easy to Google in our instant information here and now.  It is easy to see evil in the face of someone guilty of acts such as Adam’s.  Personally I choose not to see evil in any of the creations of the Higher Power, but I am left with many questions.  For example, what place is there for Adam in the idea that the Creative is a benevolent and loving Being?  

Some say there is a competing power of evil that strives against the Good.  I say that one who is beyond the constraints of space/time is far outside our small sphere of experience and knowledge and that we are simply incapable of comprehending such a being.  Our small definitions of good and evil may not suffice.  I believe that there is a Creator, and that not only are the shark and the puppy both created by this same Creator, but that the Higher Power is actually both the shark and the puppy, as well as you, Adam Lanza and I.  

Regardless of good and evil, I think we can all agree that Adam Lanza’s acts were beyond the boundaries of what we call sanity.  Insane acts are hard to predict and therefore difficult to prevent.  We work to prepare our own schools from similar occurrences by trying to guess how they might unfold based on previous incidents and by putting measures in place that we hope will halt the unfolding of the event at specific points in the process.  I wonder, do all our preparations against violence mean that we expect it?  If so, might our expectations of evil manifest evil where it may not have otherwise occurred?  As our schools become more secure, openness and lightness are somewhat sacrificed.  What will be the price our children pay for growing up in a climate of increased security?  Is the daily level of fear in the school community decreased or increased by tighter security?  

I do not have any answers, but I know that if things that we find unacceptable occur, we find that we must react to them.  It is often difficult or perhaps even impossible to know what the truly effective, correct action might be.  Only certain values seem to remain constant.   We must do everything we can to assure a safe environment for our children.  We must also realize that we are limited in what we can do.  

One of the things we can always do is lend comfort to our neighbors.  May the memories of your loved ones who are no longer with us be always a blessing, and may your holidays be full of joy and light.

Tom Rubenoff
Senior Poetry Editor