When I was a kid, I went through a worrier phase. I was anxious about another ice age after reading an article written by a scientist who predicted one. I fretted over the possibility of pandemics (although I didn’t know the word) and grew concerned over just about anything in the news that was out of my control. I remember talking to my Dad about whether there could be another world war and I clearly remember him saying the biggest threat in the future will be terrorists.Â
I don’t even know if I grasped it at the time but over the years, his prediction has come back around over and over again. Dad was right. He hadn’t linked these people to radical Islam or any other religion but terrorists are, indeed, something to be concerned about.
Some say that what’s happening in Paris right now is a sign of what’s to come around the world. Terrorists assimilate and then strike. And it appears they’re no longer going after big, obvious targets but smaller ones, to send a message: no one is safe.
I’m not afraid of terrorists. I’m angry to the point of boiling that journalists and cartoonists died because of their work. Satire is a fundamental part of democracy. Â It’s necessary to take the shine off sacred cows to try to keep them honest and to prevent the gap between us and them from growing any more than it already is. Religious icons fall into that category. To some people, those icons mean very little or nothing and that allows them to more easily see their flaws and hypocricies. Jon Stewart is the king of all news satire. He put it best: comedy shouldn’t be an act of courage.
The idiot brothers who think they defended the one true god and died as martyrs, also caused the deaths of 17 individuals. The other terrorists who took over a Jewish shop  did so to support the brothers and killed innocents as well. One 18-year-old wanted after the massacre at Charlie Hebdo turned himself in. I guess he didn’t read the terror manual to the end.
Paris is a beautiful city, rich with history and culture. I was only there for a few days but I soaked it up. Now it’s under seige. Charlie Hebdo had been firebombed a few years ago and was being protected by two police officers. They were killed in the attack. I wish every newspaper in the world had printed the paper’s cartoons on the front page the next day. They can’t kill us all and we are not afraid.