IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray
# 143
April 21, 2013
“Dangerous Complacency”
Monday we sat aghast at yet another Islamic attack took the lives and shattered the bodies of innocent people. “Yet another?” You bet. The Fort Hood massacre wasn’t a case of workplace violence. The perpetrator was heard screaming “Allah Akbar” as he systematically mowed down cohorts.
But should this incident sparked shock? I think not. Patience on the terrorists’ part is not balanced by vigorous vigilance on ours. Because we live in a free society where people can move around at will, it is hard to internalize the mindset of awareness that the growing threat requires.
This has been a hard week for all of us — individually and corporately. The cry of “The British are coming” is eclipsed by the “Islamic terrorists are here.” Yet, we should not be surprised.
Our very character welcomes others. We are not, by nature, a suspicious society. However, of necessity, that is changing. Questions arise about how we monitor activities of a movement that shelters itself behind religion.
As we move to houses of worship across the nation, it is hard to internalize a creed that preaches death to non-believers and eternal reward for murderers. Yet, as we hear from the grisly “last videos” of suicide bombers, this is reality for perhaps tens of thousands of Islamists around the world.
I seldom write on a Sunday, but this week demands it. Shocking as it may seem Boston gave a $225,000 tax subsidy to the mosque attended by the terrorist duo. This shocks most of us because we constantly hear the bantering of “separation of church and state.” I wonder if a Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish congregation was afforded the same funding. Being the cynic that I am, my response is “Fat Chance!”
Fear of being judged intolerant allows extremists in Islam to make headway into areas that most of us deem outside the boundaries separating government and religious institutions.
Where is the wider Islamic community in all this? Dr. Zuhdi Jasser is a spokesperson that most viewers never hear. A valued contributor to FOX News Channel, this morning he pled for peace loving Muslims to step forward and decry the actions of the Boston Bombers.
Moreover, don’t listen to some commentators describe these two brothers as “boys.” The likes of them aren’t boys, they are men hell bent on killing others. The younger of the two cavalierly placed a bomb behind eight-year-old Martin Richard. He died. His little sister Jane lost a leg and his mother Denise suffered grave injuries. Thankfully, father Bill and older brother Henry were not hurt.
We cannot let their loss and the loss of both Krystle Campbell and Lü Lingzi dim as we go about our everyday activities — and Sean Collier was murdered in squad car as he guarded the MIT Campus in Boston. His loss is especially bitter to law enforcement on every American campus.
I remember vividly a column I wrote shortly after 9/11. As I reflect on its content, it is even more important to restate. It is not unreasonable to envision a nationwide series of small attacks in ordinary places of business or sports venues timed to strike fear into all of us.
Feeling safe is at the heart of our lives. We know of areas that are patently unsafe and we avoid them. We teach our children to avoid them. We warm newcomers to avoid them. Yet, the specter of violence as we go about our daily business and travel back and forth to work is alien to us.
We have allowed immigrants to this country to practice their religions freely for centuries. We welcome their houses of worship into our cities and towns and do not discriminate. Tolerating their silence is encouraging more of the violence and hatred, yet nobody in our government says a word.
As you pause to consider how religion impacts your life, I urge you to remember what faith in God imparts. What comes to mind are love and life. We love life. Knowing that it is not finite, we try to make every day count. The very idea that a faith would espouse death and mayhem is more than we can internalize. The question of the day is where is the wider Muslim community in this nation? Think about it. Complacency won’t answer it.