December 14 marks the second anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre that took the lives of 20 children and 6 adults.  What has your local school done to prevent the repetition of such a tragedy?

Across America, scores of political leaders, school personnel, and parents have moved beyond the emotionalism that has influenced mindless policies of so-called gun free zones.  Finally, teachers are rising up from being defenseless sheep to now taking responsibility for their own defense and that of the children they are entrusted to protect. 

Incredibly, however, most educators are still waiting anxiously for their school leaders to do the right thing.  Remember all the endless chatter immediately following the Sandy Hook tragedy?  School officials everywhere sent letters to frantic parents promising all the things they would do to ensure the safety of their kids.  Where I was teaching, even the police chief was invited to speak at our school board meeting, of which only about 8 minutes were actually dedicated to school safety – and still no change.

For many schools, it appears to have been all hype.  But how could this be after so many innocent lives were lost?

Those in charge are so paralyzed by their own sheepish mentality that they find all sorts of excuses for inaction.  My personal favorites are It’s not likely to happen here, We don’t want to freak out parents, and We just don’t have the budget.

In reality, the problem is not budgets.  The problem is denial. 

To understand denial, all we have to do is look at school safety from another angle – fire.  How many schoolchildren in North America have died from fire in the last half-century?  The answer is zero.  And the reason is simple.  We are inundated with highly effective redundant systems that include smoke alarms, fire sprinklers, fire extinguishers, fire exits, fire hydrants, and fire-resistant tiles, paint, and other materials.  We also have fire drills so everyone can practice how to escape safely.  Finally, to make sure everything humanly possible is being done to prevent death by fire, we undergo regular safety inspections by the local fire chief.  We do these things because we believe they make children safe.  And they do!

Now, how many children have been killed or injured as a result of violence in American schools?  During the 1998-1999 school year, “there were 35 murders and 257,700 serious injuries,” says Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a former West Point professor and international expert on the psychology of killing.  By 2004-2005, 48 murders took place in schools – a new record.  In short, according to Grossman, “our children are dozens of times more likely to be killed by violence than fire, and thousands of times more likely to be seriously injured by violence as compared to fire.” 

Yet many schools are willing to take their chances.  They are willing to mortgage their personal reputations and careers.  Shamefully, they are willing to risk lives. 

What's it going to take – a higher body count?  Jihadists? 

Let’s get real.  The failed “hide and hope” lockdown procedure is obviously not a survival strategy.  It must be replaced with highly effective redundant systems, much like what schools have put in place to prevent death by fire.

For example, armed security should be on every campus.  Uniformed police officers not only serve as deterrents, but have immediate access to police dispatch in the event of an emergency.  Additionally, more and more schools are following Utah’s lead by allowing voluntary carrying of concealed firearms by lawful and well-trained school personnel.  These schools have an advantage over a would-be killer, who won't know who is armed and who isn't. 

Don’t trust armed teachers?  Did you know that Utah schools have allowed armed personnel for over a decade?  Schools in Harrold, Texas are going on their eighth year, and there have been no shooting attempts by bad guys or even mishaps by the armed good guys.  In fact, in his 2011 seminar "Bulletproof Mind," Lt. Col. Grossman stated he “cannot find one single case where a multiple homicide happened in a school when there was armed security present in that building.”  Now that’s security!

School leaders who insist on creating gun-free zones – or, more accurately, “killing zones” – are most assuredly legally liable for the safety of every child and staff member.  It would therefore be wise for them to seriously rethink why, after two years, they still haven’t applied the same standards of safety in the event of another school massacre as they have done for fire.  Remember, it may be our natural God-given right to defend ourselves, but it’s also our duty to defend our children.

It’s time to move beyond the politics of denial.  It has no survival value.

Kimberly Bloom Jackson holds a doctorate in anthropology.  She is a teacher and author of The Dash to Diversity: Inside Hollywood’s White Identity Crisis and What It Means for America (2015).  Kimberly can be reached at KBJanthro@gmail.com.