Terrorism
Published: Sat, 11/14/15
I wish it were. But it's not.
One of the three worst days of my life was September 11, 2001.
It hit me personally. I used to deliver electrical parts to the
World Trade Center. And my cousin was working there at the
time. Fortunately, he made it out. Some of his colleagues didn't.
It happened in London. And Madrid. And too many other
places in the world day in and day out to comprehend.
The rule of fear.
Yes, there are geopolitical forces that allowed this to happen.
I'm not a historian, so I don't understand the details of it.
And I'm typing this from a safe and secure living room in
suburban Connecticut. But that's the point of terrorism.
No one and no place is safe.
The battle is on a new front. Our minds and our hearts.
We have to be vigilant. We have to have better intelligence
in place. And we have to think strategically about an enemy
that obviously has the capability to do what they did.
But the goal of terrorism is to create a vacuum of thought
and replace it with fear.
These crimes were committed by people with a desperate
inferiority complex, or a belief driven into them that "the other"
is the enemy, and that a cosmic system exists that rewards
murder and subjugation.
And they were organized by war profiteers who have nothing
to contribute but hate and their own self-preservation.
Gangsters...nothing more.
There's no way I'm contributing to that cycle of hate. I won't
see someone with a religion or culture I don't understand as
"less than."
And I won't reflexively blame a politician or a party, or a
political ideology. That just strings out the game. Terrorism
thrives on chaos. It's what creates the foot soldiers, while the
leaders plan the madness and count the money.
I will stand firm in my own values. But if for no other reason
than self-preservation...and to pass a loving and rational world
onto my kids and their eventual kids...I won't surrender to anger
and hatred.
I will live with open eyes, but an open heart as well.
I will not become a puppet that stays in a defensive crouch.
I will role model what I want and expect in others, not make
them conform to my world view.
I will not let terrorism win.