God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for to

“God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.” - Desmond Tutu, Cleric and Activist

So here we are again, a tragic loss of life and no reasonable explanation for what causes an individual to go atop a building with an assault weapon and aim it at his fellow humans who are doing nothing more than enjoying the beauty of celebrating a national holiday. Every time something like this happens, it is as if someone has kicked me in the stomach, causing me to lose my ability to breathe. Life stands still as I try to comprehend why or how an individual can take the life of others without giving thought to the loss that will be felt by those who loved and knew the victims.

On Tuesday following the incident, I wrote a brief email to Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering expressing the condolences of our staff and the residents of the City of Darien. Mayor Rotering and I have worked on projects together over the last several years, most notably as members of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus. When I heard about this incident I not only thought about the tragic loss of life, I imagined the pain that Mayor Rotering felt, knowing the love that she has for her community. Like most mayors, she is dedicated to improving and guarding the well-being of her community, and this occurrence provided a devastating blow that will be difficult to overcome.

In my email to Mayor Rotering and the residents of Highland Park, I noted that while our communities may be miles apart, we will always be their neighbors, and as such, we will extend ourselves to assisting Highland Park and any of our sister communities in their time of need. There will be numerous responses to this tragedy, some will call for the banning of assault weapons, while others will say we need more funding for mental health, and many of those arguments will make sense as we again try to cope with such occurrences. The fact of the matter is that when incidents such as this take place, they hit us in our collective gut; we all feel their pain, and we empathize with their loss. As Desmond Tutu so beautifully states, “God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.”

While it may be a “routine” response to such a tragedy, I ask that you please keep Highland Park and its residents in your thoughts and in your prayers.