I've been trying to understand what's happened and I can't, I just can't.

I feel an overwhelming sadness, and with three daughters of my own, I still cannot even begin to fathom what those parents who lost their little ones are going through right now. I can't begin to equate it to anything I've ever experienced as a parent...I am so very fortunate to have my daughters with me, healthy and happy.

Yes this has happened before but this time was different for me. It's really affected my heart.

So I've been thinking a lot of what can possibly be done to prevent tragedies like this from happening again and I keep coming up short. I really feel that there probably isn't anything that can be done in the short term to prevent it unfortunately. I just listened to Diane Feinstein talk about her new bill that will ban assault weapons (1994 redux) that will not be retroactive and will have over 900 exceptions. I can't see how it's going to help much. I am now listening to George Will talk about the mental health issues that seem to be common thread among mass murderers in this country. Angry, alienated, disconnected from society.

As I listen to the talking heads, and read thread after thread here on DU and other thoughts on the net, I keep remembering the stories of my grandparents, stories about community. Out of necessity because of the depression, people helped each other; people came together in towns and neighborhoods to help when someone needed it and they knew each other well. That time was hard and people struggled with very little, but they were there for each other. They found ways to entertain each other and they talked, a lot. What else did they have to do? They couldn't disappear to their bedroom and maybe not speak to mom or dad for days at a time.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to say....but maybe we need to really look at our society, and even though we seem to be so connected to others and the world through technology (so much information!), sitting alone in the room with a computer conversing with 'friends' is a very detached and cold way of being. We are losing the sense of community, the sense of being connected to each other, of knowing each other. The way human beings are relating to each other is not healthy. Is what we're seeing a symptom of the disconnectedness of society in general? We are social animals and we need each other, we need that physical, face to face connection. Without it, we become less than human, which makes it easier to become monsters.