Thought for the Day: Last week's massacres in France, followed by the powerful images from yesterday's Unity March in Paris and the parallels to the rallies following the end of World War II have been on my mind all week. I was not alive when Hitler was defeated. However, I have seen movies depicting the war and the liberation of France. During World War II, many people turned a blind eye to the atrocities perpetrated against the Jews, Gypsies, and the disabled. Americans were reluctant to enter the war until it landed on their soil and did not want to see that Anti-semitism and prejudice fueled the Nazi regime. The rally in France was the largest since it was liberated from the Nazi Germany. Unfortunately, today anti-semitism along with anti-democratic sentiments are fueling the terrorist movements. In the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Elsa Cayat, 54, the only woman killed in the attacks, was a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and columnist who wrote a bi-monthly column, Le Divan. Cayat was believed to have been singled out because she was Jewish. The attack on a Kosher supermarket was also an intentional act of ant-semitism. Sadly, history is repeating itself. This time the world has an opportunity to do something to stop hate crimes.
Yesterday's march was in many ways a victory. It was a victorious statement of victory over fear. There has been an outpouring of support around the world on social media with hashtags #JeSuisCharlie leading to massive responses on twitter & social media. The rally attended by over a million people and leaders from around the world are a show of support for freedom, but I fear that it is too soon to celebrate. Sadly, it will take more than rallies and hashtags to win a war against extreme terrorists who want to wipe out modern civilization along with the freedom of speech and religious diversity. Read on to see why...
