By Paul Stein
Executive Director
“No more.” That’s the title of a song by the great American composer Stephen Sondheim. It’s from the play Into the Woods, which is an altered retelling of multiple fairy tales. Its lyrics drifted to mind as I was struck speechless by news of another massacre of innocent children, this time at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and right on the heels of shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Laguna Woods, Calif. The song comes at a climactic moment in the play in which a main character chooses to return to raise his son and face the “giants” that have devastated the lives of those around him.
No more giants waging war
Can’t we just pursue our lives, with our children and our wives
‘Till that happy day arrives, how do you ignore
All the witches, all the curses
All the wolves, all the lies, the false hopes, the good-bye’s
The reverses.
All the wondering what even worse is still in store
All the children
All the giants
No more
We have real-life giants which we must choose to face for the sake of our children, our students and our families. We will undoubtedly struggle to find a way to explain the unexplainable and to make our homes, our schools and our neighborhoods truly safe places.
But we must find a way. Our collective action will give us strength to demand …