The Solidarity of London
It is amazing that the City of London, at 12 noon their time, came to a complete halt and stood as one, in silence, in tribute to the 50+ people who were killed. Many in Europe stood with them. Thousands stand in line to sign the book of condolences. In 25 countries, citizens stood in defiance to terrorism. The resolve is close to universal.
So what went wrong? One of the bombers was married with a child, and worked as a teacher's aide in elementary school. All were British. Why? To me it just goes to show that religious extremism in ANY form is dangerous. It has been used to induce suicides, murders, rapes, assaults, and more. It is frightening to watch those who are obviously under the influence of extremists. They act and speak as one, with no individuality, no independent thought, and are willing to lay down their lives at a moment's notice. This phenomenon is not limited to Islamic extremists, either. We've seen it in extremists of all flavors
And why the difference in reactions? In London, the emphasis was on defiance, and getting back to normal life as soon as possible. In New York, it was how we could "get them back" and a scramble for immediate draconian legislation that would curtail our freedoms.
Although I am certain that Parliament will likely be plagued with those who will try to limit British civil liberties in a failed attempt to exchange freedom for security (which gives you neither, of course), I have a feeling that the Brits will be a bit smarter than we were about this. Perhaps it is because of their history with IRA terrorism, or perhaps it is because their politicians are not as concerned with control as ours are. For whatever reason, it will be something to watch.