There is a constant need for blood donors.  I was able to give blood the other day and would invite anyone eligible to consider doing so.  The Red Cross offers encouragement.

It was alarming to learn of yet another mass shooting, yet again at a school--this time, Douglas H.S. in Parkland, Florida, on February 14.  Troubling warnings were repeatedly missed in this case, with devastating consequences for the affected families and community.  Peace to them.

May this country more uniformly value human life above the proliferation of weapons of war.  The emerging activism of high-school students from Parkland provides hope that, as in Birmingham during the civil rights movement, young voices and youth action may move adults forward on an issue that should be nonpartisan.  The likelihood that progress will be slow and difficult is, of course, no reason to give up.

A January 2015 (January 10) post discussed related matters, including a PBS Frontline program, "Gunned Down."

As a parent, I had earlier reflected on the Newtown attack.