Chloe doesn’t leave for several more months, but already the goal of fostering cultural understanding is being met. Today, terrorists bombed commuter trains in Madrid, killing at least 190 people and injuring over twelve hundred more.
Before we knew Chloe was going to Spain, I knew very little about the country. Now I have tears in my eyes as I read accounts of the carnage. I linger over the images and empathize with the Spaniards who are suffering through the horror. Before, I would have read the accounts and been sad, but I would have quickly moved on. No time or desire to worry about things that don’t directly affect me. Enough to worry about here.
Intellectually, I’ve always known that everything that happens in the world does, to some degree, affect all of us. But I was able to convince myself, superficially, at least, that it wasn’t my concern. I can no longer hide behind that ignorance. Our family will be forever linked to the people of this other country. Chloe will meet lots of students from many parts of the world and, through her, we’ll be linked to the people of those countries, too.
Many people are going to ask us, “Are you still going to let Chloe go to Spain?” Of course, just as we’d allow her to go to Manhattan or Washington, DC. People who say, “I’m staying home where it’s safe” are making a specious statement to mask their ignorance, their fear, their contempt, their bigotry. We’ll do everything possible to ensure Chloe’s safety, but we won’t submit to extremists who try to frighten the world with statistically insignificant threats of harm. At the very least, I expect that Spain will no longer allow unattended bags and parcels, and I hope that the US will share with Spain the expertise they’ve gained since September 11.
I strongly disagree with the formation of the United States Department of Homeland Security (dictionary definitions aside, homeland does not belong in the title of a US government agency). Rather, there should have been an alliance between all of the agencies that were already charged with American security. So they screwed up – make them fix it and quit behaving like rival third-grade playground brats. John Ashcroft and the Patriot Act are a far greater long-term threat to Americans than Saddam Hussein ever was. But, I grudgingly admit that we have to be more careful about our safety, which includes inspecting solitary parcels and monitoring who we allow to cross our borders. It doesn’t mean staying home, closing our borders, or being suspicious of anyone who doesn’t look or sound like us.
It’s too soon to tell what the fallout of these bombings will be, but my greatest fear is that the US State Department will issue a hasty and ill-advised travel warning that would prevent Chloe from being an exchange student in Spain. I don’t want her to have to tell her kids, “I was supposed to go to Spain for a year, but some crazy people bombed a bunch of trains so I couldn’t go.”
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