Never before have I been so angry. Watching images of a place so familiar become an inferno, all I could think was “How could anyone do this— again?” It is scary to realize the hate and pain that violence evokes. Because had those bombs went off an hour later, I would have been at that train station. And my mom might not have been able to reach me when she called frantically from New York. I had to remind myself not to hate, even though the only other emotion in me was despair.
But there was barely time to breathe, to ask how to mourn for so many strangers. So close on the heels of suffering and mourning, came politics. Manipulation and confusion. Demonstrations, false press, sucking me into another world like a whirlpool.
The ones who said they had the answers were so misleading. Aznar, Bush. The newspapers came out with special editions later that day. “ETA kills” they read, then later, “…according to the government.”
Terrorism is terrorism, no matter who is responsible, but nobody could ignore the murmuring, that it didn’t seem like ETA, that it could be Al Qaeda…
Friday night, peace march, unity. Saturday night, announcement that members of Al Qaeda had been arrested by the Spanish police. Outrage. A call to the streets to protest Aznar for lying, manipulating the truth for votes in the wake of tragedy, disunity. Sunday night, election night: Tense, eerie, Madrid seemed to be on the verge of…? Then the results. Aznar is gone. Breathe. What has just happened?
A week has gone by. It is still only slightly easier to think rationally about everything. Reactions from the U.S. saying that Spain has cowardly changed it’s government, compared to reactions of Spanish people proud that they might now have a government that more accurately represents them.
In my opinion, Spain had to get rid of one of them. The Bush, Aznar, Blair brigade was too much BS. The people here are not afraid— two days after they were on the trains again and millions out in the street in protest (a huge spiritual difference form the fear that dominated New York after 9-11). No, they are FED UP. And they have good reason to be. Would you revote for a president who manipulates the deaths of over 200 people to trick you into voting for him? Especially after he didn’t listen to the millions who protested against entering Iraq in the first place? Spain has at least made the effort to clean up their democracy.
Next, it’s our turn. Iraq has become a dangerously misleading symbol for fighting terrorism. Instead of inspiring all European nations to collaborate in an effort to destroy the underground web of terrorism that stretches from Morocco to Afghanistan, Bush lead an attack — and missed.
I do not advocate an immediate recall of all troops from Iraq. Even though entering the war may have been wrong, Americans can’t just go in, destroy everything, and then pull out and leave the country in utter chaos.
However, the leader’s got to change. Terrorism is not Bush’s fault, but it is a real enemy that needs to be dealt with in other ways besides Iraq. Bush mistakenly drove us into the Iraq mess without the UN behind him, and is way too delusional to change course. Someone else (and if the only other candidate is Kerry so be it) has to take reins and redirect the fight.
The only way to even begin to battle terrorism is to unify forces, not only with Great Britain and Spain, but Germany, France as well because as non-Muslim, MTV-watching, oil-buying countries, they are threatened as well.
But by following Bush further, we go astray. There has to be a better way to confront such monsters. If not, how many more times can we watch the news in horror, have to call our friends and family and ask, “Are you OK?” Or wonder “How do we mourn for so many strangers?”
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