The Fear

     Because too many of our national leaders are not talking about this productively and because this is my country and I am tired of their effect on it, I decided to write this post. Because I am tired that the people of this nation continually have their emotions and fears exploited, I decided to write this post. Because I am tired of this default rhetoric and the fact that it helps absolutely nothing, ever, I am writing this post. Because Brussels and all of Belgium and all of Europe need our support and not impotent bluster, I am writing this post. Because I stand with the people of this world against TERRORISM and ISIS, I am writing this post. But, most of all, because too many of our national leaders continually fail at moving forward with a solution and because they are too busy assigning blame on a religion and not on people, I decided to write this post.

       First of all, when people lose their life to gun violence in the United States, strong advocates of the second amendment are quick to point out that guns do not kill people, people kill people. Semantics, shemantics right. So, a religion is not a living object either, so is it not right then to say Islam does not kill people, people kill people. That is all these terrorist are, plain old people. Cowardly people, but people none the less, who are co-opting and perverting a religion. So when Mr. Cruz blows hard making sure we denounce them and their religion and "cracking down" on all the other people with the same religion, how come we do not do the same things to people who own guns in this country when a "radical gun owner" decides to go postal on their workplace?

       Secondly, I stand with Belgium, and France, and Germany, and all of Europe. What ISIS is attacking is our ability to live in an open and free society. They want people to cower in fear, there is nothing else they can do but threaten fear. They cannot fight fair, they cannot withstand attacks, and they most certainly cannot win a fight against a real military. What happened today was an attack on our open and democratic society it must not be made into a platform for the exploitation of fear. If we, everyone in our civilized society, stand together they cannot make us cower in fear and they lose their power. Because fear is a powerful thing. By Mr. Trump and Mr. Cruz calling for division and exploiting people's fears they are doing the work for ISIS. Fear is their main objective, emotionally and mentally immature will fall for it, and demagogues will mistakenly think they can corral that fear into power. Fear will be our downfall. 

      I will never cower in fear. I will continue to travel this world either alone, with my husband and you bet I will continue to encourage my friends to take trips with me. During the Paris attacks I was in Scotland, during 9/11 I was 6 hours away from my family freshman year of college in an unfamiliar city, and my husband and I were in downtown Sydney 10 days after the 2014 attack. It does not matter what the incident is, terrorism will  never stifle my need to see the world or connect with new people. They will never conquer my need to live, they will never make me cower in fear, and most of all, they will never ever cause me to turn on my fellow man who are innocent. They will never cause me to turn my back on people in need just because I am fearful. Their actions will never cease my will to see the world and they will never in a million years make me fear living in our open and democratic society. Terrorist can and will be defeated. When we stand together, strong and united, their power is greatly diminished. When we focus on their real intent, which has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with fear and power, we come closer to a real plan to defeat them. Because what they are attacking is our civilization, not our religion or lack their of, but our way of life. To live in fear is to submit and that is not something I am willing to do and I ask you all to do the same.