Posted on Apr 2, 2015
Do Americans really understand the threat we face with ISIS?
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My wife showed me a video the other night (link included in this post) that we laughed about at first. Laughed at how idiotic the university staff were.
If you haven't watched this yet, I'll fill you in. A woman poses as a student who wants to start a campus club. She goes on to say that she wants to send aid to ISIS, including flashlights for the "freedom fighters" because they can't see at night to protect themselves because they don't have night vision like we do. She even tells them she wants to have the name ISIS in it. They tell her she should change the name of club to keep the ISIS name out of it, but they still support what she wants to do.
After my initial reaction of laughing, disgust set in. Are we, Americans, so naive that we would let something like this actually go on? While our government spends trillions of dollars to try and keep us secure, something as open as this can go on? And who would the blame if something happened here again?
I believe that sometimes the simple things are overlooked, trying to get to the big picture. We have satellites, boots on the ground, informants, and other types of sources in problematic regions of the world. But how do we watch over our own, here, to ensure that security breach isn't on our own ground?
Bottom line is to always be away of your surroundings...even at home. Keep an eye on what groups are starting in your area, stay tuned in to your community. Be aware.
http://www.projectveritas.com/posts/news/o’keefe-exposes-another-university-sympathetic-isis
If you haven't watched this yet, I'll fill you in. A woman poses as a student who wants to start a campus club. She goes on to say that she wants to send aid to ISIS, including flashlights for the "freedom fighters" because they can't see at night to protect themselves because they don't have night vision like we do. She even tells them she wants to have the name ISIS in it. They tell her she should change the name of club to keep the ISIS name out of it, but they still support what she wants to do.
After my initial reaction of laughing, disgust set in. Are we, Americans, so naive that we would let something like this actually go on? While our government spends trillions of dollars to try and keep us secure, something as open as this can go on? And who would the blame if something happened here again?
I believe that sometimes the simple things are overlooked, trying to get to the big picture. We have satellites, boots on the ground, informants, and other types of sources in problematic regions of the world. But how do we watch over our own, here, to ensure that security breach isn't on our own ground?
Bottom line is to always be away of your surroundings...even at home. Keep an eye on what groups are starting in your area, stay tuned in to your community. Be aware.
http://www.projectveritas.com/posts/news/o’keefe-exposes-another-university-sympathetic-isis
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 14
Really doesn't surprise me. Think about it, many have never been out of the country. We all know the media will tell them what the media wants them to know. I really believe there are people who think this way. Living OCONUS has really shown me things. We military are more in touch with the world situation, but face it, there are many who've got the thinking of a bartlett pear!
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Most Americans don't care.
I'll share a personal story. When I was mobilizing in 2011 for the tail end of OND my mom had a social event with some of her teacher friends. When my mom mentioned I was deploying, one of the women there was just horrified. She said and I quote: "We're still over there? The President said he would get us out of Iraq if he was elected!" Apparently she hadn't noticed the 3 years of war that had been going on since the election.
What's probably more frustrating is those of us that do pay attention are often dismissed as "extremists" or "nutjobs." In my opinion it would take something along the lines of the 9/11 attacks before Americans start paying attention again.
I'll share a personal story. When I was mobilizing in 2011 for the tail end of OND my mom had a social event with some of her teacher friends. When my mom mentioned I was deploying, one of the women there was just horrified. She said and I quote: "We're still over there? The President said he would get us out of Iraq if he was elected!" Apparently she hadn't noticed the 3 years of war that had been going on since the election.
What's probably more frustrating is those of us that do pay attention are often dismissed as "extremists" or "nutjobs." In my opinion it would take something along the lines of the 9/11 attacks before Americans start paying attention again.
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SrA Matthew Knight
I was thinking that exactly. 9/11 was the last big eye opener for most Americans. The Boston Marathon bombings did a little but not quite to the extreme. Both events made people realize we were vulnerable but I think many Americans views on how vulnerable we truly are dwindle over time as things quiet down in the months and years following. Then all of the sudden they will be surprised when another attack happens.
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MAJ Ken Landgren
I believe many of our fellow citizens feel the wars are intolerable or nuisances, thus they don’t have skin in the game.
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It's easy to blame "the media" for not "telling us" this or that.
But the truth is, it is an individual's responsibility to stay informed and to show an interest on what's going in the world around us.
If our society has decided they want to get lost on reality tv instead of watching "real news", then I guess we're doomed.
By "real news" I mean foreign news outlets (BBC, Der Spiegel, etc), giving you actual news of the world. Our local networks are almost 100% devoted to their own political agendas (left and right) and the local news outlets are all about potholes and local corrupt politicians or some investigative reporter harrasing some contractor, etc.
With that said, what really horrifies me is that college students seem to be equally ignorant of the world around us, they are supposed to be the inquisitive minds of the future, yet all they care about is getting enough good grades to pass any given class rather than actually engage in nurturing knowledge. For the curiosity of it.
It is indeed a sad state of affairs.
.
But the truth is, it is an individual's responsibility to stay informed and to show an interest on what's going in the world around us.
If our society has decided they want to get lost on reality tv instead of watching "real news", then I guess we're doomed.
By "real news" I mean foreign news outlets (BBC, Der Spiegel, etc), giving you actual news of the world. Our local networks are almost 100% devoted to their own political agendas (left and right) and the local news outlets are all about potholes and local corrupt politicians or some investigative reporter harrasing some contractor, etc.
With that said, what really horrifies me is that college students seem to be equally ignorant of the world around us, they are supposed to be the inquisitive minds of the future, yet all they care about is getting enough good grades to pass any given class rather than actually engage in nurturing knowledge. For the curiosity of it.
It is indeed a sad state of affairs.
.
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