Times of Turbulence

During my travels in Europe, I found myself greeted by an unfamiliar sight. In London and Paris, armed Military Personnel lined the streets. As citizens milled about their daily lives, a tangible tension seemed to hang in the air.

 These troops are part of Opération Sentinelle (And in Britain, the equivalent Operation Temperer) – domestic deployment of the military to guard against potential terror threat. These reactionary countermeasures follow a rise in casualties in the EU from 4 individuals in 2014 to 150 in 2015. Domestic militarization is now a very real phenomenon in the European Union.

Back home in the United States, continentally divided from Europe, the vast majority (~85%) of terrorist attacks stem from Citizens or Legal Residents. A large portion includes American-Born converts. The current administration’s measure of constricting border security negates the fact that violence stems from ideas, not countries.

It is becoming increasingly clear to even the most removed of laymen that Western society finds itself in a state of turbulence. Placed in a dichotomy with the chaos and violence that ripples our social fabric is the reactionary force rising in response – the manifestation of which patrols the streets of Europe right now. As tensions build and newer measures arise to guarantee the safety of our citizens, it’s rapidly becoming our duty to monitor these measures and the impact it has on our lives as a whole. As our safety must be secured, so must our freedoms.

Now – more than ever – is the time to be vigilant.