Homegrown Terrorism

When people ask me why I am not more concerned with the threat of Al Qaida, I just shake my head. When you live in Podunt, USA, Al Qaida doesn't seem that much of threat to you. Yes, I know it's real, and I know it's out there but it's so remote that I just don't fear it. Besides, I haven't forgotten Oklahoma City, or Columbine.
Do you remember this?


I was at work, I had come out of my office and was standing at the counter talking to one of the ladies I worked with when the news broke. I stood there, shocked, too stunned to move. For the rest of the day we were all glued to that tv. Sound familiar? It doesn't seem like it's been 9 years.

Then a short 4 years and one day ater this...


Columbine. Children killing children. The stuff of which nightmares are made.

You see this is the kind of terrorism that frightens me. I understand how and why the Muslims of Al Qaida hate us. We represent everything they abhor. We are the evil giant in their eyes. They see us as the infidels who are spreading our seeds of sin throughout their world. They have a cause they believe in. This I understand.
How do you understand someone like Timothy McVeigh? Or Dylan Klebold, and Eric Harris. Simple, American young men? These are the terroris that frighten me. The ones we grow right here in the USA. Homegrown terrorist.
What could have happened that could make them hate so much? To make them take up guns and kill anyone in their sites? To make a young man who had served his country set about methodically building a bomb that would take so many innocent lives? If we can't explain this, how can we prevent it? We can't. It can happen again. Any day, any time. It can happen here, not some remote, far off big city like New York. Right here in our heartland. Death and destruction at the hands of our very own.
Yes, September 11th was a tragedy. But no more so than these. Yet how many people even remembered that today 9 years ago 168 people lost their lives to a terrorist? The FOX and CNN news websites have nary a mention of today's tragic anniversary. MSNBC has one small note at the bottom of their site with a link to the Oklahoma City Memorial .
In my opinion this is a classic example of exactly what is the biggest problem we face in this country today. Our leaders, even a large number of our citizens are more concerned with the threat from outside our country instead of the threat from within. Sooner or later someone is going to have to deal with the problems we are facing on the homefront. Problems like healthcare, unemployment, education, Social Security, and yes even our own homegrown terrorist.