Every time I unlock my phone and log on to Twitter or check the alerts that I get from various news outlets, there seems to be yet another tragedy happening in the world. While some may view me as lacking sensitivity by saying that I have grown weary of seeing or hearing about another act of violence, I do not think that they fully understand my weariness. I want an end to violence, like most people in the world, and I do want to be aware when violence is happening in any region of the world. However, I am tired of how we only discuss certain events and how we show our support, but only a few weeks later, or sometimes even a few days, we seem to forget and move on. Our attention span has significantly decreased in terms of our duration of focus on these atrocities and by acknowledging them and then subsequently forgetting about them until the next one occurs, we are perpetuating the cycle that does not appear to be ending in the near future.

Paris and Beirut are recent counter examples of how the media and public acknowledged tragedies. While the flag of France was immediately used as a filter for countless profile photos on Facebook and many people posted the Eiffel Tower peace sign, Beirut did not receive a similar level of acknowledgment. This could largely be because we consider Paris “closer to home” while Beirut, the capital in Lebanon, is in the war-torn Middle East, but we must stand as witnesses for all countries under attack.

We cannot pick and choose which countries we pay attention to based on which ones are more likely to impact us if the acts of terrorism spread. In the long run, it will not matter where the violence begins because it will find a way to expand until all corners of the world are threatened. Solidarity and acting as witnesses are the only ways that we can prevent further atrocities from occurring. While changing icons and posting photos are some ways to show our support, it is temporary and simply not sufficient for the long term. If we truly want to strive to put an end to violence, we must all communicate with our elected representatives and work together to find ways both to provide support for victims, as well as create measures that will ensure these terrorists that we all stand united. We are only capable of standing in opposition of terrorism if we do so together.