Today there was an attack on the European Union. The EU zone of Brussels, Belgium was hit by three explosions that have killed 34 people, as of most recent reports.
As is usual, leaders in the Western world say that we stand with Brussels…yada yada yada. I think that they have all of these speeches memorized by now. Just insert city and nation, say a few condolences, link your country with country hit, say we stand together and will help in any way possible, tell your unaffected nation that you are increasing security at home, and repeat with every new terrorist attack.
In writing this post, I am not trying to state my policy ideas, but these terrorist attacks need to be stopped. Our leaders seem to know how to send condolences, but they can’t defend their own people from these attacks. No amount of gun control, surveillance, or sympathy for the extremist cause are getting us anywhere. Is there any doubt why the far-right is gaining strength in Europe, and why Donald Trump is as popular as he is?
I would love to hear what kind of ideas people have to actually stop this, while maintaining civil liberties. If civil liberties cannot be safe guarded, should we just acknowledge that we are at war, and do what is needed to win? Please share if you have any new ideas.
Photo by Alex Mihis – CC 1.0