WASHINGTON D.C. —All week in the news there was speculation and commentary on what would make Shahzad, who immigrated to America, become a terrorist and seek to support the Pakistani Taliban, and then try to explode a car bomb in the middle of Times Square. Prior to this incident, we asked ourselves why two American-born women would also become sympathetic to Al Qaeda and try to join an international jihad. Nine years ago we asked ourselves how 18 men, most of which were born in Saudi Arabia, would come to America and not become so in love with our nation that they would commit such cowardly acts on September 11, 2001, and kill thousands of American citizens after being trained by Osama Bin Laden. Fifteen years ago, many Americans watched in horror as American-born Timothy McVeigh would commit the most heinous act of domestic terrorism in our nation prior to 9/11. Despite being heralded recently by a conservative news commentator as a hero, most sane and moral Americans realize the invoking of McVeigh’s name when discussing the current state of our federal government is not only evil and stupid, but should be considered treason.
Whatever the reason some people choose to become terrorists and commit cowardly acts against the innocent or even the guilty is something psychiatrists, news journalists and the general public can debate as long as they want. However, until we start to punish these people in the proper and swift manner they deserve, we’ll simply continue to wonder why after each horrific act. I respect those people in our nation who are asking questions, but some people are just evil. Some evil people can say things that supporters will defend and explain away. If someone likes a news commentator who says his audience members are “Tim McVeigh wannabes,” how much do you want to bet they’d never excuse it away if someone on another network said such a horrific thing?
Whenever anyone defends terrorism, it’s wrong. It’s immoral and anti American. Our nation was founded by immigrants who did not like their lives in Europe, Asia and every continent on the planet. In America we believe in hard work, respect for others and defeating tyranny. However, in the past decade we’ve gone from that standard to hate mongers who listen to vicious right wing talk radio, silly commentators on cable news stations (both on the right and left wing) and to becoming affiliated with bigots in the name of “I’m sick of the U.S. government.”
As long as these followers continue to listen to idiots who only spew hate and refuse to pick up history books, newspapers and read and learn subjects and issues better, then they will continue to react to anti government feelings they hear on a daily basis. In the real America, the one where people love America, we cause change by spearheading serious and honorable ways of voting out the people we disagree with. We are destined to become as awful and rotten as many we detest in the Middle East, who swear they are god fearing people and willing to die for their version of god and their version of what they believe their nations and the world should look like.
Americans are on a slippery slope. Luckily the latest hate mongering has become too venomous for most people I know and deal with on a daily basis. They may not like where the government is taking the country, but they dislike equally the hateful speech and lies being conducted by others who claim they want change within our nation. The best way you can help your nation is to become informed by knowledge, not hateful and deceptive words that are used by people who are plainly getting rich off of our very own lack of knowledge and our lack of a desire to do better on an individual level. We can say hateful things about the current regime until we are blue in the face. But until we have something positive to say, no one will follow that rhetoric. Positive change is the answer, not the problem.
