Look, I get it. The world is a scary place. It's hard to feel safe when it seems like every few weeks more innocent people are killed in senseless acts of violence and terrorism. Thanks to twitter, and the 24-hour news cycle, it is easier for us to be exposed to tragedies around the world. The hours and days after an attack are an understandably emotional time. People are in mourning, they're scared, they're angry, and they're looking for someone to blame. Recently, it seems like some people are taking advantage of peoples' fear and their desire for justice.
Donald Trump is the most obvious example of this fear mongering. His comments, which are at best ignorant and at worst down right racist, place the blame clearly on a foreign enemy. For a society overridden with fear, uniting against a clearly defined enemy can be a very powerful thing. The problem is, religious extremism and terrorism are very complicated issues, and Trump has dumbed them down to "us versus all of them. For Trump, no matter how many times Trump has been caught in a lie, making some racist remark, or just generally making a fool of himself, nothing has seemed to diminish his popularity.
Last Thursday, Britain had a vote, called Brexit, to determine if they should remain a member in the European Union. Leaders of the UKIP party wanted Britain to leave the EU for a variety of reasons, but the cost of being a member in the EU, as well as securing Britain's border against immigrants were their major selling points. They claimed that Britain sends the EU 3.5 million Pounds per week, but that number has been completely debunked. Many experts warned that leaving the EU would have a negative effect on Britain's economy. UKIP leaders, who have been caught making racist statements, claimed that by leaving, Britain could enact sweeping immigration reform to prevent terrorist attacks. However, to have any sort of good trade deal with other European countries, most of Britain's immigration policy must stay the same. As I'm sure you've heard by now, Britain voted to leave the EU.
What's really disturbing about both Trump's popularity and the Brexit results is that facts don't seem to matter anymore. Bigotry and ignorance matter more to the public that truth. That's terrifying. We can all agree that something needs to be done to make sure Americans and people all around the world are safe. Maybe it's a change in gun control, or maybe its changing our immigration policies, but that's a very different debate for another time. What I do know, though, is that instead of dividing our society, we have to come together. Enough fear, let love and compassion win. Popular TV personality Fred Rogers, more widely know simply as Mr. Rogers, has a quote that seems more relevant that ever. He says, "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people helping.' To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother's words and am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers - so many caring people in this world."
