Moving forward from Newtown

As conversations about Newtown, and how to reduce the chances of this happening again, take place in our own minds and with our friends and families over the coming weeks, I submit a request of everyone. 

Purge your mind of all ideological loyalties; forget every talking point you've ever heard and any bumper sticker "wisdom" you've ever read; ignore the political party of anyone offering ideas and disregard all partisanship of any kind.  This certainly isn't an issue that should be seen as a "political" issue -- it's far too important to fall into the realm of deceipt that generally comes when things are seen as "political."  Set aside your own ego and your own "beliefs" and your own paranoias in favor of really, truly hearing and understanding all of the facts, insights, and perspectives that are out there, in order to reach the best objective conclusions possible. 

We need a fresh, intellectually honest, and sincere conversation about this topic nationally, conducted in good faith.  No longer can these topics be fodder for political campaigns or fundraising tools for special interest groups.  We all need to come together and sincerely work to try to find the best answers we can.  There will be no perfect answers, but there certainly is a whole lot of room for progress.  I am positive that is what virtually everyone wants above all else.

I still haven't even begun to wrap my brain around all of the issues, and frankly, it's hard to even really try when I still find myself tearing up each time I think about what happened.  I need some emotional distance from that reality before I can start developing my own opinions in the abstract.

For now, the debate is moving forward without me, and that's fine.  I just ask that when you are ready to take part in it, please do so in the most open minded and intellectually honest manner possible, while purging all of your "beliefs" on the topic.  Beliefs have a role in society, but they can't be an excuse to justify positions that don't stand up to facts and logic.

Now is time to work together, concede our own biases, purge our own prejudices, and try to find some imperfect, but necessary, answers that may make it less likely that what we saw in Newtown happens again.