Of course I am. \u00a0Terrorism isn\u2019t just crime. \u00a0Crime is bad of course, but crime has always been around. \u00a0Pass all the laws you want, and people will still rob and rape and murder.<\/p>\n
But terrorism is something else. \u00a0They say terrorists want us to be afraid. \u00a0Possibly. \u00a0That\u2019s a natural reaction as I see it. \u00a0There is good fear. \u00a0Fear isn\u2019t always bad. \u00a0It keeps us from doing things like playing in traffic and letting our babies wander around on the edge of the Grand Canyon. \u00a0Perhaps terrorists want us to descend into hysterics. \u00a0That\u2019s never good.<\/p>\n
I have a feeling, if you get right down to it, that what terrorists want is exactly what we\u2019ve been doing. \u00a0Crawling into holes, denying the obvious, falling on one another, splitting our society, sowing divisions, lying to ourselves \u2013 all the things that come with societies in trouble. \u00a0 I\u2019d say that since 9\/11, we\u2019ve pretty much reacted in all the ways that the terrorists could have hoped.<\/p>\n
Sure, on a spiritual side, we\u2019re told to fear not. \u00a0And that\u2019s fine. \u00a0For myself, in my best days, I can look at this life compared to the eternal and take heart. \u00a0But I also have to think of others \u2013 my loved ones, my boys, my friends and neighbors. \u00a0For them I fear. \u00a0I\u2019ve noticed an uptick in Christians who talk of martyrdom with all the seriousness that I talk of taking Kamchatka\u00a0in a game of RISK. \u00a0If I\u2019m prepared to die for the faith, hurray for me. \u00a0But it\u2019s not for me to stand by and let others be the martyrs so I can display my righteousness.<\/p>\n
When it comes to terrorism, I fear because I know it\u2019s not just about the numbers. \u00a0It\u2019s about a assault on the very fabric of the society I\u2019m bequeathing to my children and grandchildren. \u00a0I can run the numbers all I want. \u00a0I can take comfort in the fact that more people die in antelope attacks every year than terrorist attacks. \u00a0But in the end, I know deep down it\u2019s more. \u00a0And I fear, when I turn to math equations or gun violence or cancer deaths or whatever to justify downplaying terrorism, that is exactly what the terrorists want me to do.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Of course I am. \u00a0Terrorism isn\u2019t just crime. \u00a0Crime is bad of course, but crime has always been around. \u00a0Pass all the laws you want, and people will still rob and rape and murder. But terrorism is something else. \u00a0They say terrorists want us to be afraid. \u00a0Possibly. \u00a0That\u2019s a natural reaction as I see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2805,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,13,27],"tags":[85],"class_list":["post-9565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-islam-and-the-west","category-post-modern-values","category-social-observations","tag-social-observations"],"yoast_head":"\n