The public response in the wake of the attack against Orlando has been nothing if not predictable. People from opposite ends of the political spectrum warring over the need for widespread gun ownership and immigration reform, or the lack thereof. People battling over whether this was an act of terrorism, a hate crime, or some combination of both. People falling back on agenda-driven criticisms of governmental leaders who decline to use the labels these people have deemed necessary and critical. In the wake of tragedies such as the one recently suffered, the topics are always varied and the viewpoints diametric, but there is always one ubiquitous undercurrent of emotion that pervades almost each and every dialogue...
Hate.
We hurl insults at each other; declaring others to be situated too far to the left or too far to the right for their stance to be worthy of merit. We denounce each other's level of intelligence; berating other's thoughts, judgments, and views. We utilize defense mechanisms that cause us to ostracize entire subsets of the population, as we fall victim to the exaggerated rhetoric of those who deign to rule our great nation.
In other words? We do everything that the perpetrator wanted us to.
I've seen an upsurge in discourse as of late over the use (or nonuse) of the term "Radical Islamic Terrorists," and I cannot for the life of me fathom why there's such an outcry over such a hollow distraction. Labeling these individuals in the manner described will not deter them. It will not cause them to second-guess their mission. Nor will it cause our military and its leaders to alter their plan of action. In fact, how we label these threats to our society will have no appreciable effect on the outcome whatsoever. If anything, it will only serve to incense our enemies further and to draw support for their misguided cause.
Those who have waged war against us have done so under the false pretense that we stand against the Muslim community. That we are diametrically opposed to the tenets and precepts of Islam. And that, as a result, we pose a threat to their quest for religious absolution and should thus be considered public enemy number one. So what exactly do we accomplish by drawing attention to and shunning people based on the religion they claim to represent? A religion whose principles they've bastardized beyond original intent? We do nothing but lend credence to their distorted claims that we are at war with a religion we are not, and we run the risk of further alienating those impressionable youth who were previously situated firmly on the fence.
And to what end? So that we can banish people from our country who lined up to donate blood, even though they were currently fasting in observance of Ramadan? So that we can engage in the religious persecution that people fled to our country to escape? We seem to stand in staunch opposition of attempts to amend our Constitution -- fighting tooth and nail to uphold all possible interpretations of the Second Amendment-- but when it comes to freedom of religion, I guess that's an amendment that we could take or leave.
And why are we so unwilling to extend the same courtesies to others that we want extended unto ourselves? Gun owners adamantly defend their right to bear arms, refusing to be brandished in whole with a scarlet letter over the actions of a troubled few. Meanwhile, a Sacramento preacher lauded Sunday's attack, praising the perpetrator for making Orlando a "safer place" devoid of "pedophiles," and I would bet that most Christians would be quick to distance themselves from this man who purported to evangelize their views. And yet, when someone who identifies as Muslim engages in an abhorrent act such as Sunday morning's assault, some of those same individuals are shockingly quick to paint all who subscribe to Islam with a painfully broad brush. When in reality, it's all the same. It's one card-carrying member of a greater population set who makes a decision contrary to the values of the wider majority. After all, in reading the Bible --a book rife with rape, slavery, and human sacrifice-- one could easily adulterate the principles behind the religion and act on those misguided beliefs. Should we, in turn, denounce the religion in its entirety? Should we discourage its followers from practicing their faith, lest they be ostracized by the community? Or should we lay blame at the feet of the individual perpetrator, and not the misunderstood faith that innocuously inspired his shortcomings?
In the end, if we allow these acts of terrorism to divide our country...if we allow them to inspire hate amongst its citizens and segregation amongst its religions, then we've lost, and the terrorists have won. Then, not only have they successfully debased the true cornerstones of Islam, but of the United States as well. Because how can we operate under the pretense of United We Stand, when so many are propagating further division?
At the end of the day, we can choose to steadfastly adhere to the principles of our country's foundation, even when we're feeling weak and threatened. We can choose not to allow these "extremists" to lay claim to a religion that they, in reality, do not represent. We can choose to open our hearts and our minds to those we might otherwise be scared of, recognizing that fear is exactly what our enemies intend. In the end, we can choose to reject hate and embrace love.
Because, ultimately, I'm all for making America great again...but not if the journey causes us to forget what made us great in the first place.