The dramatic unsuccessful attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on a NW Airlines flight from Amsterdam has prompted a huge amount of well deserved attention. There are so many questions to be answered and continuing revelations, I expect the reporting will continue for a many days. There are many interesting insights that are emerging. One particular insight occurred to me as watched a Fox News report yesterday.
The Fox reporter posed the question, “How could this young man from a wealthy and successful family go so wrong?” He went on to describe the how incredulous it is to think that a person who enjoyed the benefits of education, his family’s million dollar homes, a wealthy, prominent, well respected father could chose to abandon such for terror and violence. Another reporter later described the 23 year old as “having all that life could offer”.
What I heard was a revealing commentary on our culture and the values we hold. The clear implication was that somehow education, wealth, prestige and possessions insure families against wayward children. Being fair and balanced, I suppose that when a uneducated terrorist from circumstances of poverty is reported, the commentary would be something like: “It is understandable, given his circumstances, that he would lash out in anger and violence.