My generation of post-war children was lucky. When we went to school, all we had to worry about was the complete destruction of the human race, which we naturally laughed about.
They sent us into hallways for activities called air-raid drills. These supposedly prepared us for attack by Russian bombers. Bend over and put your head between your knees, our teachers told us.
“And kiss your ass goodbye,” we all laughed.
We knew such absurd self-defense wouldn’t protect us from nuclear bombs. We also suspected the bombers were never coming. Anyway, we were already safe. We were inside a school.
I don’t know of a single child back then who ever entered school in fear of attack — whether from nuclear bombers or some lunatic or some bigot carrying a high-powered weapon of mass destruction.
Inside a school, we were safe from the outside world.
But now in America, we have schools regularly putting their children through drills on how to protect themselves as the last walls of security prove vulnerable. None of this generation’s children will be laughing. Last week in Minneapolis shows all of us, once again, how unprotected today’s children find themselves.
And they’re not only unprotected from attack by gun.
They’re unprotected from all those who witness the carnage, and see the grieving parents, and insist it is more important to allow the open sale of weapons of mass killing than it is to protect our own children.
And they’re certainly unprotected by any heartfelt response by this president, whose big gesture of sadness is to issue a limp statement saying, “The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved.”
Yeah, that’s what we need: more prayers.
Prayers to a God whose children were murdered while in prayer.
At least the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, finally put the lie to such empty phrasing. “Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now,” he said. “These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church.”
Naturally, the man in the White House didn’t limit his response to “praying for everyone involved.”
Asked if he would call Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in this hour of heartache, Trump replied, with his usual grace and sensitivity, “I think the governor of Minnesota is so whacked out. I’m not calling him. Why would I call him? I could call and say, ‘Hi, how you doing?’ Uh, the guy doesn’t have a clue. He’s a mess. I could be nice and call, but why waste time?”
Why? Because at such an hour of distress, we need a signal from the leader of the nation: that this harming of children cannot go on. That he can hear the echoes of murder at a public school in Sandy Hook, and a Pittsburgh synagogue, and at countless other places we once assumed were safe for innocents.
And that he will take this awesome power of the presidency, and this vast intimidation he holds over the U.S. Congress, and he’ll urge the immediate passage of sane laws protecting America from its own worst instincts.
Until that happens, understand that Minneapolis is not the end of the American madness.
A former Baltimore Sun columnist and WJZ-TV commentator, Michael Olesker is the author of six books, including “Journeys to the Heart of Baltimore” (Johns Hopkins University Press) and “Michael Olesker’s Baltimore: If You Live Here, You’re Home” (Johns Hopkins University).
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