Nightmare In Paris

With the depressingly Orwellian nature of the recent atrocities that have struck Paris during the debut of 2015, one is placed in the position of having to remind themselves that they are not in fact spectators of a fictional, distopyian narrative unfolding on a screen, but rather of a brutal, absurd reality that has attacked the heart of France, and indeed the heart of anyone concerned with democracy.

The current debates that have been sparked as corollaries appear to be divided along several politcal, emotional, religious and sociological tangents. Firstly, we have those attempting to comprehend the actions of these young men in the context of Islam. Secondly, we have those attached to the idea that the motivations of these actions are racial and socio-political. Thirdly, we have those that are certain the attacks were aimed at libertarian values such as freedom of speech. Lastly, there are those whose interpretation of the events transcend, or allude, all of the aforementioned impetuses.

What led these men to do what they did may be just as complex to understand as why the issues of religion, geo-politics and long running tribal feuds are even in existence in the first place. Perhaps contrary to what those responsable for the outrages believe, now is a crucial time for an authentically democratic organism; one that deliberates in attaching blame and responsability, and one whose principal aim is to move through the forest of media representation, political alignment and quasi-existential religious spheres, in order to see these motivations of terror in their essence.

In any case, we will be hard put to draw a sensible conclusion concerning how to progress if we do not circumscribe this issue intelligently, using forums that explore not only islamic and western sentiments and beliefs, but global responsbality and opinions. It seems the division of Occident and Orient needs to end if we are to completely understand where, whether collective or individual, the responsability lies. As we have witnessed in the past, hate breeds hate, and violence breeds violence.

The only possibility of a long-term solution is to subtract ego from the equation, an entity which was more than likely at the heart of these evil acts; if we can place our pride, lofty values and emotional patriotism to one side, we may just begin to form the steps towards a reunion between global factions that, let's face it, should never have come into existence.