Out in Left-Centre Field

This is already old news, but five days ago, one man in Norway committed an atrocity that words can scarcely begin to convey.

Anders Breivik, who to any eye would have seemed an ordinary (if outspoken) man six days ago, played on the fears and insecurities of the world in turning bombs and bullets against his fellow Norwegians. Indeed, his attack was not only a strike against the people, young and old, of Norway; it was an attack against all of us around the world and against our complacent conviction that such an act could never happen in our modern society.

Regardless of where on the political landscape Mr. Breivik's sympathies lay, one thing is certain: extremism, whether left or right, is our greatest enemy. When human beings are so blinded by anger and hatred that they can dehumanize others to the point of murder, then we all know we have failed in that unending struggle.

Anders Breivik attacked the present when he set off a bomb in the midst of key government ministries in downtown Oslo. He attacked the future when he perpetrated a horrific massacre at a summer youth camp. There is only one direction he wants us to go: backwards, back to a past when diversity was considered a weakness and when other cultures were dominated and enslaved for the sake of the colour of their skin.

Clearly, Mr. Breivik had some deep disagreements with the direction that his country was taking. But that does not make his actions any less odious; dialogue and debate, not hails of bullets, are how we, as civilized human beings, are called to work out our differences. War has its place, when and only when all other avenues have been tried and found ineffective.

In his twisted mind, Breivik saw something he considered wrong with the youth of Norway and the youth of the world. He saw how we embrace progress, how we embrace working together to forge a better and more inclusive future. He tried to send the message that we, the future, are the enemy.

He could not be more wrong.

It is our job to bring forward a new way, a new mindset to politics that will not inspire madmen and murderers like Anders Breivik. Certainly, we cannot eradicate violence entirely; tragic events will still take place all over the world. But we can do our best to promote respect, civility and even friendship in public life, so that those who traffic in fear and hate will have no example to look up to, and no inspiration to act upon.

July 22nd was a tragic day for Norway and for the world. Let's not get bogged down in pointless and baseless finger-pointing; instead, let's take this event for the harsh eye-opener that it is, and the indication that we still have so much more work to do in building a better world.

Remember the dead. But honour their memory by letting their hopes and dreams of peace and tolerance live on through your actions, every day, everywhere.

Adam Schneider
Oakville, ON