Another Tragedy from Another Time

Victims of a tragedy

The tragedy that occurred Friday at the Sandy Hook Elementary School located in Newtown, Conn. where 20 children and at least six adults were massacred by a crazed gunman, rekindled grim memories of another school tragedy that happened 54 years ago.

That tragedy occurred on Dec. 1, 1958 in a Roman Catholic elementary school located on Chicago's Near North Side. A total of 92 children and three nuns perished that day in what continues to be known as the worst disaster that ever struck a school in American history.

The school was known as Our Lady of Angels, and unlike Friday's tragedy, the weapon that caused the tragedy was a match instead of a gun. The fire was ignited by a student who lit up a trash container at the base of a stairwell in the old building that contained a heavy wooden infrastructure. 

The student, who shall remain nameless, later told investigators that his intent was to create a smoky diversion that would get the kids out of school early that day. Instead, the smoky diversion became a raging inferno when the fire jumped from the trash drum onto the wooden staircase and soon enveloped the entire building. 

In those days, there were no smoke detectors in schools. And Our Lady of Angels had only a handful of fire extinguishers that were oddly placed seven feet above the floors, making them virtually impossible for the small nuns and teachers to reach. And the school had no fire escapes. That wooden staircase provided the only exit route from the school. And since it was engulfed in flames, the students and nuns were trapped inside the classrooms. When the fire department finally arrived--it was too late--many of the students inside the building had already died from smoke inhalation or severe burns. 

If there was anything positive that came out of that tragedy it was the implementation of newer and more strict fire prevention rules in school buildings. Fire escapes were added to the exteriors of buildings. Sprinkler systems and smoke detectors were added, and more fire extinguishers were also added and placed in better locations that were accessible to everyone, not just extremely tall people.

Friday's tragedy was caused by guns. And although I support the Second Amendment, I truly believe that there are too many guns available and that they're too easy to acquire. But consider this: the tragedy that occurred in a Portland, Ore. shopping mall on Dec. 11 and yesterday's tragedy weren't caused by violent gangbangers trying to protect their drug turf; they were caused by godless, evil people overexposed to violence and depravity. Both Jacob Tyler Roberts and the Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, didn't fit the typical stereotypes of crazed shooters. 

But they were influenced by a godless, secular culture that swallows up many young people today through drugs, alcohol, violent media, video and internet games, hardcore pornography and Satanism. It's a culture that rejects God, rules, moral accountability and life. And it's far worse than anyone imagines.

Like the Our Lady of Angels tragedy, the Sandy Hook tragedy will have ramifications as well. Eventually, the Second Amendment will either be severely restricted or even repealed. Guns will be all but impossible to obtain, except for criminals. 

But Sandy Hook wasn't about guns, it was about moral depravity. You can take away the guns, but you can't take away the evil. Recently, a man in China stabbed 22 children to death at a primary school. Since guns are outlawed in China, the man used a knife as his weapon of mass destruction.

Unless we get back to the fear and knowledge of God (Proverbs 1:7) and the respect for His laws, more tragedies like Sandy Hook are sure to follow.