Chicken Little

This year has brought a lot to our world. SpaceX successfully created a reusable rocket http://goo.gl/cB89pA. There’s been major advances in medicine http://goo.gl/2t0qVk . We saw worldwide disasters and unprecedented terror attacks http://goo.gl/VxsQvX. But something else happened to us this year as well. An awakening has happened.

We watched the horrific videos of journalists being beheaded by terrorists. We were taken back by the brutality as innocents around the world were murdered. We were shocked at the women and children who acted as homicide bombers. Paris became the point of convergence of our fears as we watched unprecedented terrorism roll thru their city. However, it all hit home on December 2 when 2 terrorists murdered 14 people and injured 21 at a holiday party in San Bernadino, CA. After the terrorists were dead and the investigation commenced, we discovered their plans for large scale mass casualty attacks on our soil. But this isn’t the only form of terrorism we’ve been exposed to this year.

A seemingly endless stream of shootings punctuate the nightly newscasts. According to this source, the San Bernadino shooting was the 355th of the year, sadly on par with the last 2 years’ numbers. It’s an unfathomable phenomenon, one that has created a great deal of fear.

Human beings are innately afraid of the unknown. When, where and who the enemy is anymore is unknown. Our world has changed. We are forced to face several points. 1/ War is no longer something we click off on our television sets from places far away. It is here at home. It’s in our own backyards and it can happen anywhere. 2/ We are vulnerable. Those who perished in these horrible killings weren’t murdered because of their religion or political views. They weren’t slaughtered because they were soldiers, fighting for a cause. These were innocent civilians, going about their lives, cut down for no reason but what lies in the insanity of the gunman. We can’t wrap our minds around it or put logic to it because there isn’t any. But when fear is unchecked, panic swells. Today’s world has changed our society, but we shouldn’t let it change us.

We are more aware now. We check the movie theater exits before we settle in our seats. We arm ourselves. We watch for suspicious behavior in airports. But what happened recently at Disney Springs (formerly known as Downtown Disney)http://goo.gl/czQnBv makes me wonder if this isn’t a side effect of our current awakening.

A cranky 70 year old man lost his temper on a waiter for taking too long with his dinner on Christmas (now would think the kitchen would be backed up at a packed theme park on a worldwide holiday? This guy just screams dumbass) It ended up being a fist fight. 
The disturbance caused someone to panic. An unknown person started screaming, ‘Gun! gun!’. People started running and a riot broke out. 
Local news broke into regular programming on the rumored gunshots at the popular destination. Human beings literally trampled one another to get out of the area. No gun shots were fired and in fact, a gun was not even involved in the incident. Someone heard the escalated argument in a public place and panicked, causing many people to be injured in the fracas. Order was restored and the angry old man was arrested. However, I was left with a feeling this highlighted a consequence of today’s world.

Are we becoming ‘The sky is falling!’ kind of people? Will every public outburst of anger draw suspicion? Should it? Are we more afraid now or just more aware of what could happen? We’re living in an insane world. How long will it be before we start to look at each other with suspicion?

The same technology that allows terrorists to get their message out also galvanizes us against them. Our world isn’t confined to my country and yours anymore. Our strengths lie in setting aside our differences and finding common ground. In part, and it may be cliche, but when we start to panic, the terrorist get a win. That’s not us. It’s not who we are as a nation and it’s not who we are as a society. The Middle East has been fighting terrorism for thousands of years. Surprisingly, school shootings have also been happening for a lot longer than I realized, although not in the numbers they do today.

A new year is dawning. It is a big, new world but it can be a wonderful one. We have a lot in common with one another. Sadly, some of it pretty freaking awful. But will we allow panic and division to make it worse? We are more awake as this virus of terrorism spreads across the globe. We are more aware. But the sky is not falling.

This year will bring another slew of advances in all areas of our lives, medical, technical and scientific. Hopefully, it will also bring a new resolve as we remember who we are and from hence we came. What lies ahead is our path to forge, not a terrorist’s. An army of terrorists and crazy armed people put together couldn’t shake us, if we are so determined. An awakening has happened but it doesn’t mean we have to react in fear.