The rampage of violence in schools and many other public places has changed the game plan for those who must prepare for new seasons.
Consider the issues facing educators in, say, Uvalde, Texas, which is still grieving over the massacre of 19 fourth-graders and two teachers.
Not only must they prepare for curriculum requirements and ensuring that teachers have plenty of stationery, books and online equipment to teach, they now must ensure their classrooms are secure against any possible burst of rage.
This is life in contemporary America, ladies and gentlemen. It saddens me to my core and sickens me terribly.
But .. we must stand guard these days against domestic terror just as we were shaken and angered by the events of 9/11. The international war on terror is still raging, even though it has been pushed off the front pages of newspapers and off the evening newscasts in cities and towns across the land.
9/11 taught us a terrible lesson, which is that the mightiest country on Earth is vulnerable to acts of insane violence.
We have stopped countless attempts since that terrible day. We need to commit to stopping future attempts similar to what we have seen occur in Uvalde, Buffalo, El Paso, Sutherland Springs, Newtown, Las Vegas, Parkland, Littleton, Aurora … and on it goes.
I speak to local educators in North Texas and they tell me the same thing, that they are getting ready for the next school year with both eyes and ears dialed in to the need for greater classroom security.
I do hate saying this, but they must never let their vigilance down. Not for one second.