Paris to San Bernardino; the Pettiness of Our Politics

The broad details are clear what happened in San Bernardino yesterday; we had a radicalized Islamic terrorist attack against unarmed civilians, again with a Saudi connection.

We were lucky in that this attack was only ~10% of the death toll in Paris. There will be more attacks. The enemy will use our freedoms against us - freedom of speech on down. That is what you pay for living in a free society.

The freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, redress of grievances, to bear arms, secure against unreasonable search - all these things and the other freedoms we enjoy are not the problem. The simple minded will, in an effort not to address the very real human cause, will go after freedoms first. They always do.

This attack was not made by the poor, the uneducated, the deprived, or even the foreigner (except for it seems the wife). This was not from a lack of opportunity. No, this had nothing to do with any of that.

This had everything to do with evil people encouraged and enabled by a toxic religious movement that, as things go, will continue to grow as a threat.

What does one do? First of all, the last 24-hrs have been useful to help identify which public figures are the most crass, petty, and part of the problem instead of the solution.

If you read someone "prayer shaming" - then you have your sign. If, in a state with some of the most restrictive gun laws (even stricter Paris gun laws didn't help either) - you have people press "send" on their prepared response in support of stronger gun laws while the spent cartridges were still warm - then you have your sign.

Those are not well meaning people who are worth your time. They are not honest brokers. They represent the worst of blind agenda driven mindlessness, and they will get more of us killed.

Though uncomfortable to address, there is this simple truth - this Long War is global, international, and is not going anywhere. If you think bringing in hundreds of thousands of immigrants from already radicalized nations will decrease these attacks, you are wrong.

If you think talking about climate change will decrease this slaughter, you are delusional.

If you think the response to an attack by a hostile and foreign socio-political-religious movement is to attack the rights of your own citizens to speak, move, communicate, and defend themselves - then you are worse than wrong - you are providing aid and comfort to the enemy.

If you use terrorist attacks for your own petty hobby-horses, you are worth little more than the scorn you so richly deserve.

... and yes, young man - I am speaking to you.