Protecting kids. It's there inside of us. We know it's our responsibility, whether they are our kids or somebody else's. The front page of the New York Times today showed a boy in Chicago holding up a sign: DON'T SHOOT. I WANT TO GROW UP. Today Sandy Hook students go back to school. Violence is everywhere in movies, in Internet games. There is a scary thing called crisis fatigue that can come upon people as awful news pummels our spirits and it seems like nothing can be done. It's too hard, too painful. We need to bar the gates and doors to that, and make sure we stay alert and caring. I have a friend who just returned from Uganda where she introduced the powerful concept of a tribe encircling a child after they are born as a sign of commitment and protection. Whether we circle or speak or act in other practical ways, protecting kids, keeping them safe isn't somebody else's job. It's ours. It's there in our DNA -- self-replicating, fundamental, and distinctive.
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