Norway

I don't know what people think about Norway generally. I will be the first to admit that beyond it being a peaceful country, I don't know much about it at all.

But recent attacks on the country obviously turn the eyes of the world to the people there.

People die every day. Every single day there are murders and attacks all over the world and specifically here in my home country of the United States, it's easy to accept that fact.

The fact that violence is common. We actually become desensitized to it and maybe, for some, it's a good thing.

But I don't agree.

Those people of Norway were calm, peaceful, and like anyone else, undeserving of the pain they are now faced with.

Just to give you an idea of how peaceful their country is, a young man was talking to the ABC reporter, (http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/oslo-explosion-blast-result-massive-vehicle-bomb-sources/story?id=14134197) explaining that government officials would walk down the street, 4 or 5 blocks from their office to the parliament building. No escort, no fear.

Now, that's all going to change. Now, the police force will be stronger, the fear thicker, the people less trusting.

So what, it's just a bombing right? We hear about suicide bombers in the Middle East all the time. Soldiers are attacked every day.

But, “every day” is the problem. Bombing, the death of people, even small amounts is something that we Americans seem unjustly acclimatized to.

But consider this. Consider the other half of the attacks that day.

Imagine you are them. Imagine you were there. Imagine this:

You are 15-16 years old. You woke up one summer morning and went about your day at camp. It's warm, but not too warm because the water is still too cold to swim happily. You are going about your day learning about politics and about each other when every one is called together for an announcement. Laughing with your friends, you joke about how you are being called together to be given a stern talking to for the silly practical joke you and your pals did the night before. Just mud in the shoes of your fellow tent mates.

But then one of the camp councilors gets up in front of the group, face red, eyes swollen, “Earlier today,” she explains, “there was a car bomb exploded in front of the Government Center. We don't know much more than that. Please, if you know someone, were related to someone there, please stay calm and know that people are working hard to help everyone there. All regular activities are canceled for the day, and we will keep you informed.”

She steps away from the group and you look to your friends. They are just as dumbstruck and nervous as you are. Suddenly everything you thought was important to get done today vanishes from your mind as you are overtaken by an unfamiliar sense of fear.

A mere hour later, a police officer shows up. A friendly face, with all the credentials necessary to represent a security force just checking on the youth at the camp.

He calls people over to him. You don't want to go over because you are still uneasy. Or perhaps you are shy. Either way your generally warm perception of the man is destroyed when gun shots and blood erupt from the friends that did approach him.

For a moment you are in shock, you can't believe what just happened, but when the shots continue, fired by the police officer you thought was there to help, you run.

And you run faster and faster.

And all around you, others are running. Crying. Screaming.

The water you run towards, your only escape, is cold and already fallen bodies are dying it blood red.

You are only 16 years old, praying that you will escape.

This is the situation in Norway.

Children have died at the hands of a man whose motive is still unknown. At the hands of a man who deceived them.

A country that has known only peace since the World Wars, a country where the Nobel Peace Prize is celebrated and awarded, is now faced with a brutal attack they never could have prepared for.

If this is the way the world is turning, I fear for the future.

And I hope that I'm not the only one looking for a change.