Terrorism...

The fear that terrorism produced in our corporate psyche spiked considerably on September 11^th of 2001.    Then over time, the fear levels slowly diminished.    But every subsequent terrorist attack raises our fear levels all over again.    That’s actually the main point of terrorism – control through fear.    Even terrorist attacks we are not physically close to us can cause these emotional changes in us.    Like Paris!    We must respect the reality of what acts of terrorism like the ones in Paris and other places around the world really do to people’s lives.  These acts are real!    They really do kill and maim!    But these real effects are not just physical, they are also emotional and psychological.   Terrorism can cause us to worry, to be anxious, to be scared even.    It can cause us to panic!     That’s why terrorism works!        

Sometimes, as bad as these acts of terrorism may be – and as much as our hearts and prayers go out to all those touched physically by this kind of violence, it is vitally important to maintain as much of a sense of perspective as we can.    The Paris attacks were in Paris.   Could there be a terrorist attack here?    Tomorrow?   Next week?    Next year?   Maybe, who knows.   It’s possible.    But that possibility seems to get amplified in our minds with every news story we hear about the latest terrorist attack.     These stories, whether by design or not, can fan the flames of fear and paranoia.       Whether through the aid of the media (after all, they are in the business of making money through selling advertising space, and the more we watch/read, the more money they can charge for space) or our friends, or social media, or any combination of things, we can get caught up in a whirlwind of emotions.    Which can then lead to at best a loss of perspective, and at worst a whipped up frenzied backlash of reprisals, verbal or otherwise.   

Last year I saw this happen with Ebola.  I remember hearing people I know talk about their fears that Ebola was spreading like wild-fire here in the US.    Yes Ebola was, and continues to be, a terrible disaster in some parts of Africa.  And due to ease of international travel, yes Ebola was a potential public health concern here in the US too.   In fact yes there were Ebola patients here in the US.   Of the five patients, two died.     Yes, some parts of the US medical and public health system began preparing for potential outbreaks.   As well they should.    And some media outlets shared that with us… some by way of “what do they know that we don’t?”    

But perhaps that kind of preparation was their job!    Maybe it’s their job to look ahead and see what we might face...  and plan for it.    These planned-for events might never occur, but they are planned for anyway.    Resources aren’t infinite, so they look at all possibilities, prioritizing them in order of likelihood and severity, planning based almost entirely on logic and reason.    This kind of planning goes on across much of our infrastructures.    But sometimes the media, in order to get a “juicy” story out there – “If it bleeds, it leads!” – puts the story of these plans front and center in our minds.    Some of the time, perhaps for sensational dash, some elements are left out… like the very small likelihood of Ebola spreading in the US.   

And this fear of Ebola caused some to lose perspective.   Not only does Larry King have more ex-wife’s than there were deaths from Ebola in the US, but as things stand now, our chances are higher of dying by almost everything else than dying from Ebola.   Around thirty thousand people die from the flu every year….  30 thousand!    What do you think would happen if we learned that there were 30 thousand people dead from Ebola here in the US this year?    There would be panic in the streets,   Actually no – the streets would be empty.   We’d all be at home, panicking quietly in our bedrooms not wanting to leave for any reason.    But you still leave the house, not only shaking hands with people, but touching things others have touched… and potentially touching a flu strain virus, that could potentially kill you.     You still take that risk.     

I asked people last Sunday how many were scared of flying, and quite a few hands went up.   I asked why they were scared, and some said because they felt they were not in control.     The assumption is feel more in control in their own cars.    Okay, that might cover one car… what about all the other ones out there?     You know, it’s safer to fly than drive!   In 2011, thirty five thousand people died from motor vehicle accidents.    According to the National Safety Council, your statistical chance of dying in a car accident are one in 112.   That’s every time you drive.    Whereas, statistically, there’s just a hair over 1 death for every 100,000 flight hours.     But you all still drive – you still take that risk.     You’re used to driving, so it seems safer… even though it really isn’t!      

If a reporter did a story on how dangerous it is to drive, it wouldn’t impact us in spite of the facts.   We’d still do it, without fear.    We’re used to driving.    So, it’s obviously not the numbers, but the fear of how we get to those numbers!                    

And this is also the same with terrorism.     If we are to believe some of the news outlets, it seems there might be terrorists everywhere just waiting to get us.    But the statistical irony is you are eight times more likely to die at the hands of a police officer than a terrorists’.     But some people’s reactions have ranged from suspicion of all Muslims just because they share the same root religion as that of Islamic-based terrorists, to even verbal or physical attacks on Muslims, to calls for closing the borders to Syrian or Middle Eastern Immigrants looking to escape the very violence these demanded border closings are ostensibly trying to prevent.             

I recently saw this picture on the web:     

It’s basically a question of perceived risk, and facts.    The assumption many have, based on some media outlets or word of mouth is that any Syrian (or any refugee for that matter) who chooses to, can just start making their way to the US whenever and however they want.  And if you're a terrorist... this would be perfect!   And that idea is just ignorance at best, or manipulation at worst.    The facts are that it is very hard to get into the US as a refugee.    Potential refugee immigrants are screened through 12 steps after the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) vets them.   There are medical checks done, a whole series of security checks, there’s DHS approval needed, as well as cultural orientation.   And then after this 18 month (or more) process, they are allowed to enter the US.    The process is outlined here if you want to see it.   http://www.rcusa.org/uploads/pdfs/Refugee%20resettlement%20-%20step%20by%20step%20USCRI.pdf

If these M&M’s were vetted for a year and a half prior to being put into that bowl, a process that is supposed to minimize the risk of death, then statistically your chance of eating handful after handful of M&M’s without dying are much higher.    “’A pretty good chance’ is not good enough!   There could be a terrorist there!”     Okay, again… statistically you have 9 times greater chance of choking to death on your own vomit than of dying from a terrorist act.    In what other area of our lives do we have this drive to reduce the risk of death to zero?     We risk our lives every day just by getting out of bed in the morning – assuming we didn’t die in the night for some reason.     Now, obviously we do things to reduce risk of injury or death; we drive wearing seat belts in cars with airbags, we try not to go on drinking binges every night (which reduces the whole vomiting thing).  And we try to avoid as many high-risk activities a possible – which usually means not doing things we’re not used to doing… like bungee-jumping   (BTW, statistically you’re safer jumping off a long rubber band than driving in a car… 1 death every 500 thousand jumps… just saying).          

But it boils down to this… Fear!   And some of this fear is misplaced.    And in all this talk and media deluge about terrorism, we need to remember to try not to be as manipulated into fear as the media might want us to be.     Are there terrorists out there?   Yes.    And will they strike here in the US again?   They certainly want to.   It seems it’s just a matter of time before they do again... assuming the "home-grown" terrorists (meaning not one's who've just squeezed their way in through the borders) don't hit us first.   We should and must do what we can to reduce our national risk of attack – based on reason, and legal and Constitutional precedence.   Could a terrorist potentially get through all these safeguards?    Yes.    But what would an absolute “reduce-the-risk-to-zero” alternative look like?   Perhaps becoming a locked-down society with little to know travel (or other rights).    Maybe that might get us as close as possible to absolute-zero.    But, would you want to live in a country like that?  Would you recognize this America?                 

 I can't believe we heard someone on the national stage recommend a potential law that Muslims carry some kind of ID card.   Seventy years ago we (not us, but our ancestors) called out "Never Again!"   Never again what?  Never again would we persecute people Jews for being Jewish?   Okay.   Or did they mean we would never again persecute people based on their religions?   Never paint a whole religion with a broad brush?   We're doing it again.    And we need to stop, and get reasonable again.   We need to settle down and look at this with a little more logic than emotion.         

Certainly we have to use our logic.  Lets start with this:  Just because our enemies are Muslim, it does not logically follow that all Muslims are our enemies!        

And we have to look at this through faith.  I haven’t said much about faith in this yet.     I obviously felt more need to address logic first.    But there is a faith-side to this.   These M&M’s aren’t people.    These M&M’s haven’t left everything they have and know to escape violence in their war-torn country, seeking refuge somewhere else that's safer.     These M&M’s aren’t mostly women and children.    And when Jesus calls us to help those in need, I think Jesus means everyone we’re able to help.  

I remember that story where this guy asks Jesus what he must do to enter the kingdom of God.   “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, body and soul.  And love your neighbor as yourself”.    The call to love God and the people of God is very Jewish!    Okay, check!   Next question from the guy – again, a very Jewish thing to do… engage in questions to get to a deeper understanding:  “Who is my neighbor?”    Basically, where are my boundaries on this one?   Jesus goes on to answer about a man who got robbed and beat up on his way to Jericho.  And he’s left in the road for dead.   A priest goes by but does nothing.  Then a Levite goes by and does nothing either.  Then a Samaritan sees the other man lying in the road.   Now Samaritans and Israelites were like the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s…  a long feud by to groups that that seem to be pretty similar in almost every respect.    They did indeed closely share at least two things; mutual hatred and mistrust.    However this Samaritan actually helped the Israelite!   

Then Jesus asks the man… “Who was neighbor to the man that got beat up?”   “The one who showed compassion”    Jesus didn’t answer the guys question – which was.. “Who is my neighbor?”   The guy wanted to know the boundaries for “neighbor” – Who is my neighbor… but also who isn’t my neighbor?    Who am I responsible for, and who am I not responsible for?                    Jesus answered a question the guy never asked, but should have… “What does being a neighbor look like?”    

So, here today… can we get past our fear, and anxiety, and panic… however valid or misplaced they may be… and see a neighbor in need here?    Maybe we, as individuals, may never see any Syrians here in the US.  Maybe there might be so few coming in, that the odds of any one of us seeing and meeting one are so remote we just may not get the chance.   Maybe we’ll never get the opportunity to hear their stories about why they felt the need to leave their homes and jobs and friends and lives .  Even though we might never meet them, they are indeed our neighbors.    But we will more than likely meet Muslims.   And they are also our neighbors.  They are also our neighbors.      

                     

 Folks, love... faith.... is a risk!   It's easy to have faith when everything is going well.  It's easy to love people we know.   But that is obviously not the only kind of love and faith God is calling us to engage in.    When it counts... there really is a risk in being a person of faith. 

I'm not telling you what you have to do, or how you have to do it.  I just sharing my view of this whole terrorism and Faith combination in my life.   Times like this, each of us has to ask the question... how much of our faith and love are we willing to risk to be neighbor to someone in need?