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opinion:
our view
Wake up, it can
happen
Bombings and wars
declared in the name of God are declared everyday throughout
the world. Unsolicited and incredibly heinous attacks are carried
out in countries all over the world, where innocent lives are
lost.
The events of yesterday's
tragic terrorist attack should serve as a wake-up call for
those who thought that such a thing could never happen here
in the United States.
We live in a democratic
country that funds revolutions, that draws its lines clearly
as to where it stands politically in wars and disagreements
all around the world, so this should not come as that big
of a shock.
What is shocking
is that with all the countries that have a hatred and discontempt
for the United States that this has not happened sooner. What
is perplexing is that those who plan and safeguard against
these attacks are as shocked as the rest of us, despite their
knowledge that terrorist attacks are a very real threat to
our well being
How is it that
these people are able to get on airplanes to even hijack them?
Why is it that we as Americans, all the way up to our government
officials think that we are untouchable?
The answer to the
first question is one that should and will be focused on in
the days following this tragic incident. We may never know
if these people who carried out this attack were armed or
how exactly it was that they were able to takeover the planes
involved.
As for the latter
question, it is an amazing fact that a war has never been
fought on American soil. Perhaps this is the reason why we
feel that nothing of this nature could ever happen so close
to home. But in this world of ever-increasing tensions and
growing polarizations of races, nationalities and countries
it is now apparent that something like this could happen anywhere
in the world.
The sad thing is
that bombings often occur and lives are lost everyday in places
like Israel, where the Israelis and Palestinians are entrenched
in a brutal war. Turn on the television and watch for a while.
Things like this happen often for reasons that are sometimes
just and reasons that are sometimes extreme.
The world is going
to hell in a handbasket and only when we reach out to truly
help people in other countries are things ever going to improve.
We need to erase the growing divide between the rich and poor
both nationally and internationally. We need to work on our
relations to begin to try to find some type of common ground
with foreign leaders we don't see eye to eye with.
More importantly
our government needs to make strides not only to protect its
citizens better, but also to erase the negative perceptions
that countries have of us by reaching out to them instead
of distancing them. Dialogue is the only way horrible incidents
like yesterdays will never happen again. In the meantime we
are now living in a state of fear that the once real threat
of terrorism hitting our country is now a reality.
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