When will we learn?

In this day and age, we have seen everything, right? Wrong. After last Tuesday, nothing will ever be the same. The way we fly will forever be changed. The way we think about security in our own homes and cities will change. If this terrorist attack could have happened in the mightiest of all cities, it could happen anywhere. The symbols of democracy, trade and power dropped 110 stories high out of the sky, twice. The events of last Tuesday morning have haunted me and left me appalled that in our so-called “civilized” lives this can still happen.
As much as it disappoints me to talk about the terrorist attacks and what has happened, what further disgusts me is the way some people have reacted. Instead of realizing that this terrorist activity happens in many countries and that it should be stopped and dealt with, many people elect to celebrate. It appalls me that in our educated society I can walk in to a bathroom and see graffiti on the wall that says “Good for the Americans, they deserved what they got! They are the real aggressors.”
Do people in our society, our city, realize that it happened to a city that is about an hour by plane from here? Do people in our society not realize that thousands of lives have been lost? It appalls me that some people have lost their compassion for human life.
Another thing that bothers me are the racial slurs and stereotypes that people have formed. I have seen graffiti on the walls in the form of racial slurs that are too indecent to print in this newspaper. Members in our society who feel the need to group all Muslims, Arabs, or Palestinians under one stereotype are ignorant, closed minded and pathetic individuals. People have to be understanding and open their eyes and see that our world, our city has many faces that represent many nations. It’s sad to know that people see only what they want to see.
Take the Muslim Brotherhood, a fundamentalist group in Egypt. Now you must be thinking something negative about this group, but the reality is far from it.
This is a non-violent group that makes sure that their people have food and shelter. This group is always under scrutiny because of another Egyptian-based fundamentalist group that bombed the USS Cole. This type of negative thinking will never allow us to find out who really committed these atrocious acts of terrorism.
Many people who left their countries did so because there is so much turmoil in their homeland. They deserve better than having to live through another kind of turmoil – this time, at the hands of their new fellow countrymen. We live in a multi-cultural society that has many faces. As we expect those different faces to respect our culture and our individuality, we in turn must do the same. If we do not learn, there will be conflict, hate, frustration, and pain in our society whether we like it or not.

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