Battling Enemies Within

Albeit, Americans and those who try to hold on to the singular and myopic view that this was just another 9/11 conducted by international terror and that banning people, or even stigmatizing, if not singling out, U.S. citizens of a particular color/race, religion or culture is the standard by which they should accept, and conduct themselves.

Albeit, Americans tend to have relatively short memories when horrific events take center stage of their psyche and attention. Perhaps what had happened back on April 19 of 1995 when two politically driven domestic terrorists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, bombed and destroyed one-third of the Alfred P. Murrah U.S. Federal building and killed 168 people/U.S. citizens, and injured more than 680 others. And it is this horrific act of terror that appears to have been forgotten entirely; of which, that by itself adds to the injury that befell the nation just over 20 years ago.

Of course, memories do fade but mustn’t these memories, and as horribly tragic as they are, remind us of who the true-Americans are and not to be sucked into a black hole of racism and bigotry that politicians like The_Donald would predicate their demagoguery on?

Gun control. Is that the singular solution to end the insanity? Or is it in instilling fear, and paranoia, and animosity in people and to think the same way in what the The_Donald believes Americans should believe, and to trust him; to “MAGA?” And in campaign rhetorical innuendo squarely laying blame and targeting ethnic and religious segments of America’s population? Isn’t this abhorrently unacceptable?

There are many fast and hard questions confronting Americans in this moment of history, and with a general election fast approaching decisions will have to be made. Some may solve a few of the problems and or begin the process of resolving some long standing issues and challenges; where other decisions, or lack thereof, will continue down the same road and or destiny.

America cannot, and should not tear itself up over this single act of domestic terrorism and should/must think outside of the box and beyond the pigment, race or religion of the monsters that are invariably out there festering and waiting to commit the next Oklahoma City Bombing, Sandy Hook, and now Pulse/Orlando massacre. For the fight against ISIS and radical Islamic terror is currently a multi-national effort to combat, yet the more immediate battle is already within America’s shores – which only a rational and reasoned America can combat, and by first looking into the mirror?

是故百戰百勝，非善之善者也；不戰而屈人之兵，善之善者也。

“For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” – Sun Tzu, Ch. III, Art of War