Shootings thousands of miles apart sent shock waves around the world this past weekend, after gunmen opened fire at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, at Brown University in Providence, R.I., and near Palmyra, Syria. In Sydney: At least 15 people died and dozens were injured after alleged gunmen, a father and son, launched an attack near Bondi Beach. The father was killed and the son was injured. The victims included a Holocaust survivor and a “bright, joyful” 10-year-old girl. One bystander has been hailed as a hero. [CNN/Time] In Rhode Island: A manhunt is underway after at least two students died and nine others were injured in a campus mass shooting involving a masked man with a rifle. Police had detained a person of interest but released him after evidence pointed in “a different direction.” [USA Today/NBC News] In Syria: Two U.S. soldiers and one civilian were killed after a shooter ambushed troops near Palmyra. The gunman is believed to have been an ISIS infiltrator. President Trump promised “retaliation.” [CBS News]

Here you see the juxtaposition of multiple terrorist attacks by individuals programmed to engage in criminal activity at the risk of their own life and freedom. It is one thing to join an armed conflict in service to one's country, and another to become a rogue, independent vigilante inflicting death on others, often at random with respect to not even knowing who they kill. This shows the level of ideological extremism and delusional thinking, making this seem like an imperative to spend one's life on, and perhaps end one's life on, in the bargain.