Another Day in America...

Another day in America...another mass shooting.

Listening to holiday Christmas music in the background, I scan my social media accounts, peruse the web and watch TV. All are filled with news on the latest mass shooting, this time in San Bernardino, Calif. (Many forget the second "r" in "Bernardino".)

As I type, we believe 14 people were killed and at least 17 more injured, some critically. Two suspects - a man and woman - are dead and another detained. More will be known in the days and weeks ahead but for now, a community, a nation, a world again mourn.

Los Angeles Times homepage

Sadly, this is not the first mass shooting, nor will it be the last. According to the New York Times' compilations of episodes derived from news reports, more than one shooting per day that left four or more people injured or dead has occurred in the United States this year.

Indeed, you probably can take many of the previous shootings and cut-and-paste the details into San Bernardino. And, you can save it as a template for the next time -- perhaps tomorrow.

In 2015, nowhere in the world is absolutely safe -- your home, your work, your car, even your church. If someone or a group with malicious intent wants to get in and cause harm, he/she/it will.

Where I work, a security guard is stationed at the lobby entrance, and there is keyless card entry for all the departments. I do feel protected with these safeguards but know that in an instant, someone can render the guard unconscious or worse, pick up the phone outside our door and mask his/her identity, and gain access inside. At that point, our security - perhaps our lives - is gone.

As part of my job and at most workplaces, exercise drills are conducted annually. In years past, the scenarios were a natural disaster, fire or equipment malfunction. Now, active shooters and terror attacks are incorporated into the training. Again, I feel educated and protected about how to respond but also know that regardless how many exercises I participate in, I will never be prepared for the real thing.

What's more, as a public information representative, I have a responsibility not just to myself and my colleagues but also to the institution and community as a whole. I must take inventory of the situation and fulfill my responsibilities as assigned in our emergency response plan. I may be removed from harm's way only to be put back in front of it -- an obligation I accept.

You may ask me -- what's the solution? If you go back online or turn on the TV or radio, the answers are endless. More laws. Less laws. More guns. Less guns. Congressional action. And on and on.

I don't have an answer.

I do know all of us would love to die peacefully in our sleep or while watching a beautiful sunset. But we do not have a say. Some will have that experience, while others will die of disease, in accidents and yes -- from violence.

My view -- enjoy your life and don't live afraid. Cherish every day as if it were a gift because one day, that gift will not arrive.

Happy holidays and have a great 2016!

Til the next time...