Imagine having a nice family dinner at a restaurant downtown. Everyone is laughing and sharing things from their day, smiling and enjoying one another. All of a sudden, BOOM, the moment is gone and men with machine guns and bombs strapped to them barge through the doors, shooting people who are laying helpless on the ground. This is what happened at six different venues in Paris on Friday, November 13, 2015.
There were 129 citizens in Paris, France killed as a result of these attacks.  Along with the 129 people killed, 352 were injured. The most deadly of the attacks was at a concert hall where about 80 lives were lost. All of this damage is said to be done by only 8 ISIS members. This group being relatively small and inflicting such damage is particularly frightening.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has taken responsibility for the Paris attacks. According to CNN, the group began as Al Qaeda and then rebranded itself two years later as ISIS. Since then the group has shown more brutality and become more effective at controlling the territory it has seized in Syria and Iraq.
The new issue posed due to this violence is whether or not America should allow refugees from these countries. According to World Vision, 4.6 million Syrians are refugees, and 6.6 million are displaced within Syria; half are children.
“I think we should accept these refugees because America is based on helping those in need or struggling,” said senior Ben Byrd.
An article written by The Atlantic, Is France at War, quotes President Francois Hollande “Terrorism will not destroy the republic because it is the republic that will destroy terrorism”.
According to the article, Hollande will be meeting with U.S President, Barack Obama, and the Russian President, Vladimir Putin to form a unified coalition against ISIS.
However, Paris is not the only country we should be worried about. According to the New York Times article, ISIS Claims Responsibility, these acts of terrorism are just the “first of the storm”.
“I don’t think that the average American is in danger, and they shouldn’t be fearful for themselves in any way. Although, it is definitely still an issue and we should really do our best to help those in danger from it,” said Byrd.
According to CNN student news, there have been multiple attacks linked to ISIS within the past month in multiple countries. In Bangladesh, an explosion killed one citizen and injured many more. In Lebanon, a suicide bombing killed at least 40 people. In Egypt, a suicide bombing killed 4 police officers. In Yemen, two large cities were bombed killing 25 people. In Turkey, explosions killed more than 100 people.
The goal of ISIS is to replace the existing man-made borders and to expand “Islam’s war,” into America and Europe. They ultimately want to lead Muslims into an apocalyptic battle against all non-believers.
Many American citizens don’t think this group is something we should be worried about in our daily lives.
“I think it is really sad that this is happening. However, it doesn’t really scare me because it’s not a big enough threat that I should worry about it in my personal life,” said senior Ethan Leverton.
However, it is important to be aware of these occurrences. Many lives have been lost due to these relentless attacks. The group will execute anyone they come across who disagrees with their methods. According to the Independent news source, a four-year-old boy was brutally murdered a week after his father was killed for having being found guilty of a December attack on an ISIS checkpoint. The boy was strapped with explosives that were attached in such a way that his organs would be blown apart.
Violence has become such a huge part of society in today’s world. Killing is an everyday occurrence in these developing countries.