Community Update

Terror at Home

I sit glued to the websites of Fox News, CNN and MSNBC, as well as local news stations, trying to comprehend the horror and cowardice of the Boston Marathon Bombing. All Americans have many emotions about this: Sadness, Fear, Anger, Hurt. For many in the Veteran community, it conjures up memories and images that we care to not relive. While deployed to Iraq in 2003 and again in 2005, I witnessed many Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's) being used against our troops and the Iraqi people by a group of cowards that called themselves Al-Qaeda in Iraq. These lunatics did everything they could to kill, maim, and instill fear in the people they targeted, all in the name of Jihad, or Holy War. By their thinking, they were acting against the infidel in Allah's (God's) Name, and were religiously correct in doing so. The damage they caused was horrifying. Children, Women, Soldiers and Elderly people so grotesquely mutilated that even veteran medics were mentally and emotionally scarred forever. All this, in the name of their God.

Terrorism is a word many of us have heard, or used, to describe many of these acts of cowardice. How many of us know the true meaning of the word? According to the Department of Defense, terrorism is: The calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological.

Boston rings true to that definition. Let's not rush to judgement about who may be responsible. Race, Creed, Religion or Color have no bearing on the end result, the perpetrator(s) of this cowardly act are Terrorists regardless. Some are saying it may be a Lone-Wolf type, others are already pointing fingers at the Muslim Community. I would rather let the police and FBI figure out who did it than listen to the talking heads on TV.

In the wake of this horrific tragedy, I was reminded of a book I recently read about Mr. Rogers, one of the most beloved Children's TV hosts in history. In the book, he recalled a story in which his mother told him to "look for the helpers" in a tragedy, and how that helped him through some of his darkest days. By watching the raw footage of the Marathon bombing, I was so proud to be an American seeing the Police, Firemen, EMS, National Guardsmen, and ordinary Americans rushing towards the danger to help others. These helpers definitely lifted a cloud on one of our darkest days. They showed me that the true heart of America is United, and selfless in the face of danger. No matter what is thrown at us, no matter how hard we get hit, we will always stand together, we will always have a stronger will, and we will always be United in our response. GOD BLESS AMERICA!