People thought I was crazy to fly so soon after September 11th 2001. They thought I was crazier to travel to Madrid one week after the terrorists detonated bombs on a commuter train (originating from my second home of Alcalá de Henares), but I did it anyway. Explaining I would not let these evil people ground me and put me in fear of doing the one thing I love most....exploring this world and discovering as much as I can about it.
This Saturday is America's Independence Day. I have been invited (via groups on Facebook of which I am a member) to celebrate our nation's independence with parties and other gatherings throughout Valencia. After all the horror that has happened around the world in the past 10 days or so (especially in a part of the world that is so close to mine), I'm afraid I will be declining invites and spend the day far away from gatherings of fellow Americans.
Am I afraid you might ask? I"m not afraid, I am cautious. These people who hate Westerners and our way of life are cold and callous and want nothing more than to kill for the sake of killing. These savages take pictures with their victims after they have gunned them down in the name of religion and it makes me sick to my stomach and I have mourned for their families and like many other people have spent time trying to figure out where such evil and hatred have come from. We are not born evil...evil is taught...it is witnessed and learned and it's passed on like a virus.
The Islamic State warned the English that they would attack Tanzania, months before it happened and they held true to their word. We as Americans have been warned about the possible dangers and threats we face from ISIS and others on Saturday.
The world was a different place pre-9/11 and those of us who are old enough to remember it know this. I will continue to travel, be a citizen of the Earth and get to know my fellow global citizens, their customs and ways of life. I will not however, put a target on my back. I will not attend events publicly advertised to American citizens in a part of the world in which so much horror has taken place.
I am an American and I am proud to be one! I will not be afraid to live my life as I want, but I will also be smart and ever vigilant of the world around me and not call unwanted attention to myself.
Happy Birthday America!
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