Summoning resolve, five years after Sandy Hook

With hearts still weighted with sorrow, we observe the fifth year since the Dec. 14, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. It is an anniversary no one wants for a day no one could forget.

The news began trickling in shortly after 9:30 that Friday morning, so close to the holidays. It would take hours before the depth of the horror would be known. For the families of the six educators and 20 first-graders, confirmation of their worst fears would not come until after midnight.

It is difficult to face the anniversary of the worst school mass shooting in Connecticut history and not dwell on the terror in the halls and classrooms.

Why did a heavily armed 20-year-old shoot his way into the school through locked front doors? Why that place, that time, that day? Why turn his weapons to Classroom 8 filled with first-graders, and then another classroom? In five minutes, he fired 154 bullets before killing himself.

The “why” questions can never be answered with any finality. Therefore, while we cannot look away from the monstrosity of the day, perhaps we can focus on the virtue amid the chaos.

With hearts seeking strength, we recall the acts of courage and compassion: Principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach running into the hall upon hearing the first spray of bullets, special education aide Anne Marie Murphy wrapping loving arms around 6-year-old Dylan Hockley, first-grader Jesse Lewis bravely leading a charge of classmates against the shooter, though little boys are no match for a semiautomatic weapon. First grade teacher Kaitlyn Roig sheltering her first graders in a tiny bathroom for hours until police convinced her it was safe to come out. Undoubtedly, other selfless responses occurred that we will never know about.

It is difficult to reflect on the fifth anniversary of the tragedy and not sink into anger — anger toward a mother who failed to get the necessary help for her unbalanced son, anger toward a federal government that fails to adequately fund mental health resources, anger toward a Congress that could not be moved enough by the 26 deaths to enact even the most common sense of gun safety protection laws. Anger that mass shootings continue, at a rapid pace. With galvanized hearts, we can shape anger into action. We can stand up with and support groups fighting for change; we can petition Congress to protect the people; we can respond locally with kindness to all.

In the days after the tragedy, green “We are Sandy Hook, We Choose Love” signs appeared around Newtown. Five years later, with uplifted hearts we can better the world, and ourselves, and “choose love.”