Growing up in Charlotte, NC, during the Cold War with Russia, I remember having drills in elementary school in which we were told to get under our desks to practice “taking safety” in case we were bombed. That potential reality was so far out in the universe that I never felt scared or aware of any imminent threat. Today, it is inconceivable to think that our children can learn anything in school when they are acutely aware every day of the anxiety and fear they feel being in a place that no longer feels safe. I do not even want my grandchildren going to school anymore. I do not feel that anywhere in America is safe. Unless we again provide safe public spaces in which our children can learn, play and live without fear, we are failing as parents and grandparents to love, care for and protect our children as they deserve, and which we are responsible to provide for them.