March 11, Madrid

When 200 innocents are murdered, more than 1,400 are wounded and people either don’t know or just don’t care, something is wrong. Last Thursday, 10 coordinated bombs were detonated on four commuter trains in Madrid. It is the worst terrorist attack in Spanish history and the most deadly in Europe since the Lockerbie tragedy in 1988. Yet disturbingly, many Americans seem relatively unfazed.

Talking amongst friends, I was shocked to discover that many had not even heard of this attack, and those who had were not especially affected or concerned. It was not even the headline the following day in the Boston Globe. Could Americans really be so self-interested to not care? Could we possibly have become so accustomed to such tragedies to have grown callous to them? Perhaps there was a time when it was somewhat excusable that Americans did not empathize with those affected by disasters of this nature—we hadn’t experienced such tragedy. But Sept. 11, 2001 should have changed all that. We know exactly what the Spanish are going through right now, and we should be going through it with them. In Spain, the bombing has been widely referred to as “our 9/11.” They made the connection, why can’t we?

On March 11, I expected to see and hear expressions of solidarity toward the Spanish. Acknowledgement of what had happened that morning—a moment of silence at the beginning of class, flags at half-mast, something. At least at Harvard, we had no moment of silence, no mention of the tragedy, no American flag at half-mast. Only Schoenhof’s, the foreign bookstore on Mount Auburn St., made a gesture by draping their Spanish flag at half-mast. So much for international community—only a foreign bookstore had taken the time to acknowledge 200 dead.

The bombing in Madrid reflects another element of American egocentrism that needs to be remedied. Terrorism threatens all nations. It did not take Madrid to demonstrate this fact, but it has devastatingly reiterated the need for international cooperation to combat it effectively. The United States needs to realize that it does not stand alone as a target of terrorism, and that it cannot stand alone in defense against it. I think this is largely understood, but in order to achieve effective international cooperation, the United States cannot casually disregard international sentiment as it did before attacking Iraq. A successful global coalition must be cultivated or it will fail to serve its purpose.

Spain is one of our closest allies. It is one of the few countries that sent troops to Iraq in support of the American led coalition. At this point it seems likely that al Qaeda is responsible for the attack, and that Spain was targeted largely because it supported the United States in Iraq and elsewhere. This brand of terrorism reacts against global interaction. It is perpetuated by global strife. But it can be overcome by global cooperation. The United States is in a position to foster international cooperation, but it must first begin with its own people. Americans need to care.

Nathan G. Bernhard ’07, a Crimson editorial comper, lives in Weld Hall.