I was camping in the woods on July 22nd, when Anders Breivik opened fire and killed over 70 people in Norway.

I missed the American media mess of misplaced blame and inaccuracy.  I got back into civilization on July 25th, by then they had figured things out.  However I heard about it, and I feel like Steven Colbert did an excellent job of summing up my thoughts on the subject of knee-jerk journalism.

Along the lines of knee-jerk reactions, I enjoyed this article on how it’s not Islam, it’s Fundamentalism of any faith that causes these sorts of problems.

I’m amused by The Right now claiming Breivik isn’t really a Christian.  They are outraged and offended by the media “labeling him a Christian”.  Sorry, O’Reilly, he is.

I definitely found this particular article interesting, where the writer discusses the crisis of legitimacy – the similarities between American “Birthers” and Breivik’s belief that his own government is illegitimate.

At the end of the day, the events in Norway shocked myself and the world.  They remind us that terrorism can’t be marginalized to a single demographic – it’s not just one religious path, not just one skin color, not one social class.  There are people out there who believe that killing other people, innocent people, will help their cause against their “enemies”.  They are motivated by rationalizations that terrify me, a sincere belief that there is no chance that they are wrong, no perspective to their idealism.  They are fundamentalists – and blood is a perfectly acceptable cost for their cause.

I watch with disdainful interest as fundamentalists of each vein draw their lines to separate themselves from Breivik, yet I still see people like Glenn Beck making apologist statements.  We’ve seen plenty of evidence of the terrorism fundamentalists in America are capable of.

I am saddened and pained by the suffering of others at the hands of self-righteous people.  May there be justice.