When words are not enough

So we wake up to another senseless act of barbarism and already our leaders are expressing their well-intentioned words of comfort and defiance.  The acts are of course ‘terrible’ and we ‘will not be cowed’. This never satisfies.  It doesn’t even scratch the surface.  Their carefully chosen words just don’t…can’t go far enough to express the anger and sadness in equal measures that these acts bring.

What I actually want our leaders to shout from the rooftops of Whitehall is ‘You! Yes You! You sick, deranged animals abusing a noble religion as an excuse to express your psychopathic, masochistic condition – you are amongst the lowest that our species has ever produced and you don’t even know it.  You are deluded.  A stain on your family, your communities and whatever God you claim to act in the name of.’  But they won’t of course.

It’s no coincidence that a democratic campaign like an election is a target. It’s an opportunity to breed the kind of fear that opens the doors to division and to see that reflected in future policies.  Far from our democracy itself being a target, if we’re not careful it can be their tool. By creating fear and conflict, more extreme positions can be formed which itself can entrench conflict.  When our PM says ‘things need to change’, fair enough… but in whose interests?  Is it any wonder that moderate voices in our own elections struggle to be heard while being desperately needed?

So what are we supposed to ‘do’? I don’t know about you but despite the fine words, I am a little bit cowed.  Anybody going about their life would be and it’s surely entirely understandable.   Surely there are some deeds to accompany the words – some small acts of defiance?

I’ve said elsewhere that the only victory available for our worst enemies is our division. Turning our anger inwards and towards each other and on those Muslim communities that are as much a target as the rest of us is exactly what the sick animals that launch atrocities want.  It’s all they can really hope for.   That’s why days like today are important reminders of how important it is to understand others, not blame the wrong people; accept we have different views on things.  Accept when we may be wrong.  Most importantly, consider instead the common ground we all have, not on the things that divide us.  And heaven forbid – smile at a stranger on a train. That’s what we can do.  Well, that and vote.