Dear Stoneman Douglas Students:

It is with a heavy heart of an almost 70 year old grandfather that I write to you today.  When I was an elementary school child during the height of the Cold War, we too had practice drills.  Ours were called “civil defense” exercises, during which we were rehearsing responses to a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union.  Depending on the predicted imminence of the attack, we were to follow a specified procedure.  If the strike was suspected to be immediate, we were to “duck and cover” under our desks.  If the warning gave us an additional minute or so, we were to go into the hallway, lean against the wall and clasp our hands behind our necks.  A bit more advance warning meant that we could gather in the windowless basement of the school building.  If a few hours were expected, the planned response was practiced one time only – designated parents were to come to the school, load their vehicles with children and drive them into the mountains to presumed safety.  The impossible logistics of this option led to its elimination.

Once the dangers of the fifties passed, I hoped that my children would never have to experience the unnerving drills, let alone the horror of an actual event, and for quite some time it looked as if that were to be the case.  Then came Columbine.  My children attended a high school very close to Columbine and were deeply affected.  We attended a memorial service for the fallen, at which time somewhat meaningless platitudes were provided by a politician and a clergyman.  I was not satisfied but hoped this was a one off event.  I was wrong.  One after another horrific day occurred – years later even at the precise school my children had attended.  And now it has unbearably descended upon you.

And so, my young heroes, I write to you not only with thoughts and prayers but with some advice from the elderly.  Do not stand for it.  Do not allow anyone to tell you that you are too young and don’t know what you are doing.  Do not accept any rationale given for what has happened.  Do not stay silent when they say someone is putting you up to it.  Ask them to find the checks if they claim you are being paid.  Do not let any self-serving politicians or television personalities impede you.  Organize, march, protest, register, vote.  Most importantly, let no one ignore you.  You are the survivors, not they.

You have the power and have already proven the strength of your resolve.  Continue and you will gather thousands to your side.  You are the hope of my grandchildren’s future, and I have much grandfatherly pride in you, even though I have never met a single one of you.