As threats of terrorist activity grow closer to home, I find myself fearful of the future. It is difficult to wake up every day and combat the sinking feeling in my stomach with optimistic thoughts. I worry that, because of the selfish acts of violence, I will not live another day to see the smiling faces of my parents or the exuberant presence of my sister.
While it is not easy to be positive, neither I or anyone else should give the nefarious people that inflict these threats upon us the satisfaction of falling at their feet out of fear. We all have lives to live, families to see and work to do, which is where all of our energy should be concentrated upon. Life should be looked at as a chaotic blessing, not just a mere sentence that could end in imminent death by explosion or attack.
Most recently, Seaside Park, New Jersey and New York City have been the targets for terrorist explosions. The news of these events affected me emotionally; I was born and raised in New Jersey and my entire family still lives there. My hometown is about twenty minutes from where the bombing occurred and although there were no injuries or deaths, this attack on my home soil killed a piece of my heart. These threats and actions are still frightening to hear about even when they are thousands of miles away. Any threat to this nation is a threat to our livelihoods.
These threats are getting in the way of the “American Dream” and we live in a nation of constant fear. As I scrolled through my email inbox a few days ago, I came across a subject titled “Journalists Murdered by ISIS.” I was a bit taken aback by this, since journalism is what I aim to do for the rest of my life and I can’t believe that I have to feel my life is threatened if I continue to do what I love.
This instilled me with fear and made me realize that the threats and violence that are occurring throughout America are more than just heinous acts against the soil we live on; they are attacks to our livelihood, safety and society.
With every threat against the people of our country, it is important to stay unified in the fight against violence. The United States of America must stand, as our name indicates, “united” in this situation, as there will be no solution any other way.
The rest of the world should stay united in this fight as well. America is a crucial force in the affairs of many other countries, so if the world stands together against violence, relations could be greatly improved.
Typically, I am not the person to have such a vocal reaction to a topic of this nature, but I feel like I am obligated to speak up. It is my priority as an American to take advantage of my free speech and stand up against violence.
All I want is for people to unite instead of dividing over every issue in the world. We may all have different opinions and backgrounds, but that is what the makes the world vibrant.
It is unacceptable for violent acts and threats to occur throughout the world when negotiation and peace are two palpable ideas. It is upsetting that this topic is still relevant in 2016, but this seems to be a year tainted with tension between races, ethnicities, genders, etc.
I would be ignorant if I said that another threat or act of violence will not occur again in this country. While I certainly hope nothing will ever happen and we can be safe to celebrate our freedom, this can never be done until everyone agrees that safety and prosperity are more important than arguing someone else’s views.
Michael Robinson Chavez/Los Angeles Times/TNS