Our Schools Are Not Safe and the Left Keeps it That Way

The Madison shooting presents the question...why do authorities refuse to secure our schools?

Monday brought the news of yet another horrific school shooting, this time in Madison, WI. As of the publication of this article, Abundant Life Christian School has suffered three casualties, including the shooter.

One does not need to elaborate on the profound nature of such a tragedy so close to Christmas. The suffering speaks for itself.

The initial press conference was understandably emotional. Madison police chief Shon Barnes, was asked if the school had been equipped with metal detectors, to which he replied, “No, there were no metal detectors. But there shouldn’t be metal detectors there. This is a school. It’s supposed to be a safe space.”

He was angry and no one can fault him for that, but his response brings up a larger question: If schools are supposed to be safe spaces, why aren’t they?

When it comes to school shootings, our educational institutions are a lot safer than the legacy media would have us believe. To watch the coverage one might suspects students are getting shot at school every day. In reality, there were 38 school shootings in 2023 that resulted in injury or death. That number is down from 51 in 2022. For comparison, in 2018 and 2019 there were a total of 24 school shootings respectively. One shooting is too many, but these numbers aren’t as high as Americans are led to believe by media reporting. Still, it’s a concern, so much so that where once students experienced nuclear attack drills, now they have active shooter drills.

It isn’t only gun violence that invades our schools in modern America. Across the nation schools are experiencing issues with violent gangs. In Loundon County, Virginia, a father was arrested for raging at a school board meeting about his daughter’s sexual assault by a male-to-female transgender student in the bathroom. The district covered up the incident over fears of political chaos but its subsequent revelation to the public has led to similar reports from schools around the country.

A brief perusal of teacher TikTok will lead you to plenty of videos of teachers being assaulted by out-of-control students. One teacher was brutally assaulted in the library by a special education student who was angry that she had taken away his gaming device. He knocked her unconscious and then continued to kick and punch her limp body as other teachers stood by, seemingly too shocked to respond. It is just one example of thousands given by American teachers over the years.

Our schools are not safe.

But why?

I believe it is because of politics. At issue here is not the safety of our children, but the second amendment. There is an element in this country that believes there would never be mass tragic violence like this if we simply eliminated the right to own guns.

The progressive left has never been a fan of nuance. For them, every social issue is a zero sum game; all or nothing. They don’t want to be safe, they want to be right, and the only way for them to be right is to force all the rest of us to be wrong, even if it costs us our lives.

Our children are our most precious resources. They are the most important people in our lives. There aren’t enough words in the English language to properly capture the depth of love a parent carries for their own child. There is simply nothing more important. Ever.

Why wouldn’t we, then, put every resource possible into protecting our children when they are away from home?

We shouldn’t need metal detectors in a school, but we clearly do. It may not be a good look, but looks are not the priority. Our children are.

Why are these insane shooters always so attracted to schools? The answer is obvious. They are not safe. They are vulnerable.

Targeting something like a bank or even an average corporate office comes with risk. Banks and offices have security officers, police presence, closed circuit monitoring and more. Pulling off a mass casualty event in an area like that comes with a lot of hazards.

We use security to protect our money. We use security to protect our workplaces. We don’t use a standard security protocol for our children in their schools.

It makes no sense until you frame it from the perspective of politics. The progressive left does not want any other alternatives to work. They want to be right and that is it. Increased security at our schools is a solution. When we solve things, the progressives can no longer use those issues as bludgeons for their own agendas and entertainment. Making our schools safer means less possibility for events like the tragedy in Wisconsin. As perverse as it sounds, it also means fewer soap boxes for the progressive left to stand on and demand we rescind our second amendment rights.

Our children deserve the same protection at schools that CEO’s and bank workers get. It doesn’t seem like a controversial stance to take. The most valuable asset we have as people and as Americans are our children. We should treat them accordingly. Yet, leftists continue to force them to be at risk simply to satisfy their own political goals.

As much as the immature political left would like to believe, we cannot simply snap our fingers and change the mental health status of thousands of potential criminals, nor can we just eradicate the right to bear arms. Perhaps their political utopia will one day come to fruition, but what are our children supposed to do while they’re waiting for this prefect progressive paradise?

That Madison police spokesman was right. Schools are supposed to be safe spaces.

So why aren’t we investing to make them just that?

*Before I let you go…if you are in the mood for pure, cheesy entertainment this Christmas season, subscribe to A Very Merry Podcast wherever you find your audio podcasts. My co-host and I break down the very best of the cheesy Hallmark season. It’s great fun. You don’t need to be a Hallmark fan to listen. You’ll have a blast just hearing us talk about these silly (but heartwarming) films.