What does it mean to  “be brave”?  The definition according to Webster’s dictionary is the following: “Bravery is the quality or state of having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty.”

I bring this up in the wake of the heartbreaking mass murder of 19 children and two adults in Texas.  I think of how an organized group of   armed and “trained” law enforcement officials, aware of the carnage happening inside an elementary school, were apparently completely paralyzed with fear. Somehow, collectively, they were unable to rescue these nine and ten year old children.  This, in spite of the mission of Law enforcement to “serve and protect”. These law enforcement officials lacked the courage to do what needed to be done in this crisis. 

The conclusion I draw from this “botched” situation is that carrying a firearm is not what makes a person brave. In fact, I would argue that the firearm itself often serves as  a prop to hide behind. “Brandishing” a firearm is a performative “threat”, and a “show of power”, that is supposed to scare off anyone who dares to cross your path. Deploying that firearm bravely and strategically is another matter altogether.

So, lets take a look at the true heroes and heroines of that fateful day in Texas. How about the teacher who shielded her student and died in that effort?  How about the 10 year old child who had the presence of mind to smear her classmates blood all over herself in order to stay alive?  Or what about the parent who defied police orders and entered the school building in order to rescue her two children?  

These are people who had no training, no weapons, and no body armor, and yet they were instinctively able to   put their own lives at risk to save others.

So, what is the lesson to be learned here?  Is there a way to teach all of us how to summon within ourselves true courage in difficult and even life threatening situations? What can we do to enhance the possibility that we will find our own courage weather life throws us the literal “bullets” of gunfire, or a deadly pandemic?

The first step is, I believe, to admit that we are afraid in a threatening situation. I would argue that admitting the fear out loud is what allows true strategic problem solving to actually occur.  You are not wasting precious psychic energy trying hide your fear.  The trick becomes admitting fear, assessing risk, taking whatever precautions you can, and then doing that risky thing anyway 

Somehow the imperative for action has got to supersede the fear.

My fondest hope is that the call to address “mental health” will mean offering children, beginning at very young ages, a curriculum that weaves emotional intelligence, empathy, and conflict resolution, into all school subjects.  Added to this, if children have the ability to express feelings creatively and  “self reflection” is encouraged,  this will be the best preventative to physical and emotional violence I can imagine

Surely our tax dollars are better spent in teaching children “violence prevention” in these ways rather than hiring armed guards and turning schools into prisons.