What was your reaction to the terror attack in New York? Is this the new norm? What does this say about us?
Bottom Line: I discovered something about myself on Tuesday that I didn't like. The way I felt upon hearing of the terror attack in New York. Sad. Not shocked, not outraged but sad. So why am I upset with myself? Sadness is an emotion you generally feel when something's expected but upsetting. We're all going to die and we know this but when we do it's natural to feel sadness for the vacancy in our lives with those we loved when it happens. Think back to 9-11 for a moment. It's likely that at some point you were sad but what were your initial emotions?
It's likely they were a combination of shock, horror and outrage. The sadness likely came later when we began to come to terms with what happened and reflected on those lost. If sadness is an initial reaction it's likely that we've become accepting of an unfortunate situation. So back to why I'm unhappy with myself. Is what happened in New York the new norm? Is it acceptable? It shouldn't be right? Sure, it's easy to say that it's just the way of the world these days and it's unavoidable but that's defeatist and it's also mostly wrong. I'll illustrate the point. How many Islamic terror attacks do you think have occurred around the world this year? Take a guess... Here are the actuals:
Through October 31st:
1,752 attacks
57 countries
12,455 killed
12,464 injured
Now that's still shocking and outrageous right? Let me break this down a different way. Around the world everyday Islamic terror is responsible for:
5.8 attacks
41 deaths
42 injuries
You just don't know about most of it. Islamic terror isn't anything new. It's been around a heck of a lot longer than us. It's just newer to us. So why does this matter? In many countries terrorism is standard operating procedure. It is a terrible reality of life and death. As such there are those who're raised in these cultures that are more inclined towards these types of acts. Like Uzbekistan for example. Countries that the President has tried to more closely vet before allowing entrance in the US and that some activists courts have tried to undo. This culture of evil and death that used to take place in other parts of the world but most Americans never knew about is now becoming part of our culture. How many troubled young Americans are now getting ideas that they might eventually act on? The President is 100% correct about the need for merit based visas as opposed to the lottery based systems in place now. The NYC terrorist "won the lottery" and many Americans lost their lives. It doesn't and shouldn't be this way. Imported Islamic terror doesn't have to be standard operating procedure. Political correctness continues to get people killed.