Naval Gazing

Back from a 3 month hiatus (to the day in fact). It’s funny how fundamental life changes can reorganize your priorities – albeit temporarily. The last three months have been a veritable roller coaster ride of worldwide scandal, news, and earth shattering/tragic events. Does anyone other than myself find that the information superhighway has a speed limit that causes the passing landmarks to blur into a murky background with little or no definition? Sometimes you just have to pull off the road and soak up the scenery.

There can be no other story right now than radical Islam’s attempted destruction and destabilization of the west, unless you are an American cable news network that is. When compared to 9-11, the attacks on London have received a collective yawn from our American cousins. Without stats to back it up I would wager that the missing American girl in Aruba has consumed more airtime than the London tragedy. It saddens me to no end that Americans are able to choose their spots for chest thumping or, inversely, naval-gazing. Apparently the war on terror takes a back seat to human-interest stories for our narcissistic neighbors if they aren’t the direct victims (but we’re really all victims aren’t we?). I have been, and still am, a big defender of America and their handling of the role of last remaining superpower. It’s a lose-lose scenario but I believe they’ve gotten it right more often than not. It’s a shame that the high-toned rhetoric spent on the fight against Islamic fundamentalists begins to tarnish when they inevitably turn to acting globally but thinking locally. It’s supporting evidence that words rarely speak louder than action, and the American people (not the government, funnily enough) have shown themselves up with their short and limited attention spans.

So while we across the Atlantic go about summer vacations, watching reality TV, and worrying about a single missing girl in paradise the people of England (and all of Europe) ride public transport on the way to work never knowing if it will be their last trip. We smugly think that it won’t happen here again, that we’ve effectively reduced the risk with increased vigilance. We are sadly mistaken – it can, and will, happen here again. Will we or the Americans be surprised if the rest of world doesn’t share our grief?