Why Did It Take An American’s Beheading To Get The World’s Outrage At ISIS? [Opinion]
ISIS’ beheading of American journalist James Foley sent a shock wave through the civilized world, just as it should have. ISIS’ beheading of the journalist of was missing for two years was not only a shock to everyone once the video was posted to YouTube (the video-sharing site quickly took it down), both for its brutality and the fact that terrorists were once against targeting Americans and it was happening in Iraq, a nation with which many Americans believed we were no longer entangled.
But why did it take ISIS’ beheading of James Foley to get the attention of the world about the atrocities taking place at the hands of ISIS on the ground in Iraq?
For months it seems, reports have been trickling in detailing how the insurgent group had been making their advance toward Baghdad and with it, taking cities previously believed to be free of insurgent control.
Along the way, the group was not only destroying religious sites of importance to both Christians and Muslims, but it was also reigning terror on families as it beheaded children and others.
You read that right. ISIS’ beheading of children was taking place well before the beheading of James Foley. I reported it here on The Inquisitr and linked to disturbing photos showing the graphic evidence (If you click the preceding link, it WILL NOT show the images. But be warned, there are links to the images and disturbing facts about the beheading of children will be available).
So while it is despicable in every sense of the word that James Foley was beheaded in what I believe can only be called a terrorist attack against the United States, why did it take his videotaped execution to grab the attention of the world? Why did the world not pay attention when innocent children were being executed, their parents left holding and consoling nothing more than their lifeless, headless bodies?
Do I have the answer of what we need to do regarding ISIS? No, not even close. But I believe we have to stop having rage only when a crime against humanity happens to an American. The rightful outrage over James Foley’s beheading should have simply been a continuation of the outrage of children having their own heads cut from their bodies for no other reason than they were caught in a situation that was most definitely not of their own choosing.
[Image via Flickr Creative Commons]
