Christopher Cervantes
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I remember where I was when 9/11 happened. My mom was driving me to morning kindergarten when the news broke on the radio. My mother, who had been smiling as the latest P!nk song played, was now wearing an expression that could best be equated as pure, unadulterated terror. While I couldn’t fully understand what had happened at the time, I could tell that all the adults around me were drained, as if they knew life would never be the same. And, in all honesty, it never was.

Everyone in America remembers where he or she was when it happened. Sadly, France now shares that experience with us.

On Nov. 13, Paris was attacked. It began around 9:17pm, when authorities report that three suicide bombers detonated themselves outside of the Stade de France. From that point on, everything fell into pandemonium. Six sites were targeted in the attack. Most of the perpetrators of this incident have been reported to be dead, and some suspects have been taken in, though not without a cost.

It was not long after the events of Nov. 13 that the extremist group ISIS took credit for the attack. French President François Hollande commented that what ISIS did was “an act of war” and that “even if France is wounded, she will rise.”

The next couple of weeks and the next series of decisions are crucial.

First and foremost, what we need to do as France’s ally is be there for French as they were for us. That part is already being done by not only the United States but by most of the democratic world. This is the easy part;  France was the victim and therefore, by logic, should be protected and cared for. I am more worried, however, for what its government does.

After 9/11, there was a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment that spread through America. Muslims were subjects of public bigotry and hate crimes. It turned a time that should have been highlighted by unity into a time period of social persecution that was one good step away from the treatment of Japanese-American citizens during World War II.

The biggest fear about all this though, is the threat of war. Right now, the French in a delicate position. They have the burden of proper response. If France goes into combat with too much force, it could create a bigger conflict that he world may not be prepared for. However, too little action could create a precedent to the terrorist organization, a precedent that states that ISIS’s actions will have insufficient consequence. Furthermore, now that the world’s focus is on France, its actions are ripe for scrutiny.

What happens next will determine history, that much I am sure. However, whatever it decides to do, it must have the backing and support of its allies.