In towns and cities across our country, Americans are sacrificing their lives during mass shootings at schools, concert venues, in workplaces, in malls and public buildings. These individuals do not stop to think about the consequences of their actions – they react within seconds, using their bodies to shield, protect, and save the lives of others, most often – children. These men and women are not military personnel, or police officers – they are teachers, athletic coaches, culinary workers, custodians, principals. They sacrifice their lives during regularly occurring mass shooting events on school campuses, which have been transformed into a uniquely American form of “killing fields” in which innocent civilians are executed. For the generation who watched the Vietnam War on black and white TV sets every evening, this analogy resonates deeply. The impact of these sights and sounds now travel to us with an immediacy that belies our ability to respond. But history has taught us that there are always individuals who do not hesitate or pause, but act with clarity, alacrity and purpose to save the lives of others in spontaneous acts that transcend the natural impulse to flee from danger. How many more of these American Heroes must die in mass shooting events?

• Please read this article from the Daily Beast – What Makes a Hero Like Aaron Feis Is a Brain Mystery – “Aaron Feis and other staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School lost their own lives while saving the lives of others. Science still struggles to explain such acts of heroism.”
• And via Politico – “Two days before the school shooting in Florida that left 17 dead, the Trump administration proposed [$25 million cut] in federal education programs meant to help prevent crime in schools and assist them in recovery from tragedies.”
• And The New York Times – Op-Ed Contributor: The Things We Know About School Shooters
• And the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel:  “They were students, they were teachers. Athletes, dancers, coaches, musicians. The 17 who were lost in the senseless shooting on February 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, leave behind heartbroken family, friends, classmates and communities. These are their faces and their stories.”