So a guy tries to blow up a car bomb in Times Square by parking it in the turning lane. It doesn't blow up. I commute to work the following day and my hour long trip turns into a two hour nightmare. Lots of police. Lots of trucks. Lots of short tempers. The thing is, even though nothing exploded, the throngs of police and the large guns do not make me feel safe at all. The reality is that I have never felt less "safe." The reality is that the terrorists are winning.
Shoes off at the airport. Bag checks in the subway. "See something, Say something." If the goal of terrorism is to change a particular way of life, then they are succeeding. If the goal is empathy for an ideology then they are doing worse than ever. The reality is that most people don't even care about the ideology whose beliefs would allow someone to strap a bomb to themselves and detonate it in a crowded square. Most people can't fathom believing in something so deeply.
In the movie "Jurassic Park" there was a group of dinosaurs that learned that the fences were shut off in certain places at certain times. They tested them by having one dinosaur jump at them. Well, voila, one day it worked and they got out. I think its an effective metaphor for this last "attack". The reality is that at some point--someone truly invested in causing mayhem and destruction will do so. We will have a personal, local and national response. Be vigilant and be safe. The only thing that will truly stop a terrorist is the understanding that they are railing against something and having an honest dialogue about what "it" is.
Be safe and get it done.
No comments:
Post a Comment