I stopped doing it years ago. I used to be involved and passionate about what goes on in the world, politics, all the hot-button issues... and then one day I just stopped the dialogue. I thrive on dialogue, but I found that the more I talked, read, etc. about all the major debates in our world, the more depressed I got over the direction we're heading. So I just kind of... checked out. Granted, I still have my beliefs, and I still stand behind them. I just don't get involved in the debates, I guess.
But on Friday, I felt a passion, a rage, a blood-boiling reaction to the news that could not be avoided, and I can't keep quiet about it.
The mass murder in Paris on Friday was not the only devastating event that happened that day, and I find myself mourning them all... but to me, it is the most poignant. A stark, vicious reminder that we live in a world where there are people out there who want to murder others just for being who they are. Make no mistake: Muslims are NOT all evil, just like Americans are not all evil. The plain fact is that there are good people in the world, and there are evil people. There are do-gooders, and there are cold-blooded killers. The Islamic EXTREMISTS, the fanatics, these calculated, remorseless murderers of innocents... they are the evil.
And evil must be eradicated.
For a long time now, I've kept quiet about the war. But as a friend said in response to the outpouring of opinions on Friday: "I have seen two different posts that have used the words 'going to war' over last night's events in Paris. I hope everyone understands that we are not going to war: WE ARE AT WAR." He continues to explain that just because Friday the 13th's atrocities occurred in a familiar city doesn't make them anything new. I couldn't agree with this more.
What happened in Paris is horrific. Heart-breaking. Terrifying. And it's SOBERING. This is what we are up against, people. These monstrous, hateful, murderous religious psychopaths that want nothing more than to destroy everyone in this world that does not fit into their ideal. Forget EVERY OTHER ARGUMENT you want to spew upon reading that; trust me, I already know. It doesn't matter. History is important, but right now, it's our future that matters. This Jihadist extremism IS NOT COMPATIBLE with what the greater good represents. The only way to win this war is to vanquish the evil that started it. The evil in question is not Islam as a whole. It is the fanatics hell-bent on taking over the world with their warped, perverted version of an otherwise peaceful religion.
We have to learn from this. We have to hope our government and our people learn from it, and that the entire world learns from it. If we, the good, do not stand shoulder to shoulder to destroy the threat to our freedom and safety, we will eventually be consumed by it.
Did you see this? I'm sure you have... it's all over Facebook. But look really closely. San Francisco, Toronto, London, New York, Dublin, Sydney, Tokyo, Belgrade, Rio, Berlin, Shanghai, Mexico City... do you see this? Do you see what we're capable of? If we can come together across the world to support a long-time ally, we can come together to destroy the extremist beasts that devastated them and so many others.
(image origin: Will Black)
But, then again... that's just the humble opinion of a mere stay-at-home mom worrying about the world her children will live in.
Pray for Paris... and then pray for the rest of the world. We cannot stick our heads in the sand any longer.
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