A terrorist is one who inflicts violence on a targeted community in order to invoke fear and disorder. Unfortunately, for those of my generation who were born in the late 90s, as well as those of the most recent generation who were born only today, terrorism has become an almost daily occurrence, and even an acceptable topic for the dinner table. We’ve not only had to deal with terrorism for the entirety of our lives, but we’ve also had to deal with the prejudice, the spiteful anger and suspicion generated by the cruel scheming of extremists.
The entire Muslim culture, a religion that is meant to be peaceful and pure, has been slandered shamelessly. Politicians, rather than diffuse the threat and assuage the fear of the general public, argue about domestic policy and use terrorism as leverage to bolster their own statuses on the political forefront. While the people we elected to make a difference fail at their tasks, innocent people all over the world continue to suffer.
Almost fifteen years after the fact, 9/11 remains the worst act of terror the U.S. has ever witnessed, with nearly three thousand civilian casualties. More recently, the Boston Marathon Bombings were the first attacks to truly hit home for Bostonians, as the entire state of Massachusetts slowed to an anxious crawl, waiting for the attackers to be apprehended. And then the City of Lights fell under siege in November of 2015. On the night of November 13th, Paris, one of the most culturally iconic cities in the world, lost one hundred and thirty people, and France closed her borders for the first time since WW1. After Paris, Brussels went into lockdown, and then San Bernardino suffered an attack. And now, the violence has returned to the East Coast, with forty-nine innocent people falling victim to a lone gunman at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, FL who had pledged allegiance to ISIS prior to the shootings.
My purpose is not to recount every senseless tragedy to befall major cities around the world. On the contrary. Having grown up in a generation accustomed to violence and the perpetual threat of terrorism, I’ve learned to look for the beauty smothered by tragedy, because it’s always there, hidden somewhere.
When the Boston Marathon Bombings occurred, I watched as the city of Boston became Boston strong, and united not only to deliver the victims of the bombings to safety, but to raise over $60 million for the survivors of the bombings to recover and receive the continual medical treatment they would need. After the Paris attacks, we witnessed cities across the world turn red, white, and blue to support the French. The world’s most iconic buildings and landmarks lit up in the colors of the French flag while the phrase “Pray for Paris” flashed across social media. We now see the same support for the victims of the Pulse nightclub attack. The Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, London Eye, and Zakim Bridge in Boston are but few among the many structures that lit up in rainbow colors in salute to the flag of the LGBT community after the attack on Pulse. Barely a day after the violence had ended, an urgent call for blood donations resounded through Orlando. The response was overwhelming, with people flocking to donate blood only to form a line with a waiting time of seven hours. Those who were unable to donate supplied bottled water and granola bars to the people waiting in line, eager to help in any way they could.
A terrorist’s goal is to cause panic and disruption to the daily life of a community. While too many are able to achieve this goal, it will never cease to amaze me how their actions seem to have the adverse effect. Communities do not shatter in the wake of terrorist attacks – they come together and grow. In the abject horror caused by hate, human compassion grows beyond measure as petty differences collapse and hands join to form an unbreakable bond. A global alliance has been forged, an alliance that cannot be broken by even the most ill-intentioned of minds.
