Earlier last week, I was planning to write about Starbucks cups. It seemed like a good idea. What harm would it do to shed some light on an issue that's been clogging up our newsfeeds for the the last few days? According to the media, America cares about the controversial removal of two, tiny festive words on the side of a disposable paper cup. The next outrageous comment a particular Republican toupee'd candidate makes. The latest Hollywood scandal. According to the media, this is news. It really did seem like a good idea at the time.
But I've come to the conclusion that none of it matters. How can any of the trivial tabloid "news" matter when the very existence of human rights is being targeted daily? How can public outrage over Starbucks cups matter when the current death count from the Paris massacre stands at 129? It's climbing daily. Please enjoy your coffee.
What does matter is the fact that I have friends studying abroad in France, who visited Paris last weekend. What matters is the fact that my classmate has family who lives in Paris, who she was unable to contact for four hours, whose brother almost ventured to a targeted spot that night. What matters is the fact that the death count will be above 129 by the time this article is published. If I have one piece of advice for you all, it is to never round off a death count. It is an international outrage, not a statistic.
I'm aware that I frequently discuss my feelings towards the injustices of the world, but enough is enough. There are too many abnormalities I have grown up with and have come to believe are normal. My generation's outlook on Islam and the Middle East has been molded from the day we were born, there is no denying it. I have been imprinted by terrorism since the age of five when smoke billowed from my television set on Sept.11. Words like Al-Queda, Taliban, Hezbollah, suicide bombers, genocide, have been integrated into my vocabulary for as long as I can remember. Enough was enough on Sept. 11. Enough was enough after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, on Thursday when the attacks in Beirut occurred, on Friday when the first news of Paris began to trickle in. Today, enough is now too late. It's time to call a global state of emergency.
ISIS has claimed that the Paris attacks are just the "First of the Storm." I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. But this fear I feel, this sense of helplessness sparked from the last few days, has given me a better understanding to those living in areas where this fear is an every day reality. The initial panic, the scramble to contact loved ones, the awe and disbelief that occurs as a story unfolds, these are all just a taste of what people around the world consistently wake up to.
Only now have the U.S. government and other French allies begun to rethink their strategy on fighting ISIS. Although today is an additional 129 lives too late, we will surely be doomed if we wait until tomorrow. And while many have vowed to keep the victims of the Paris attacks in their thoughts, we must do more. Facebook statuses and French Flag filters are no longer enough. My thoughts are with the victims of the Paris attacks, as well as my actions. Enough is enough.
I once read a book that discusses the looming fear that terrorist groups will prevail and "dance in our streets." Hard times are ahead, that much is certain. But I have vowed one thing: They will never dance in my streets.
