A simple headline can change your emotions. One heartbeat you’re stressing over two economics midterms. A pulse later, your guts tighten into knots as you read:

London hit by multiple explosions during rush hour. Tube shut down, one bus reported destroyed.

And you can only think, “My God, not again.”

Suddenly, you don’t care about supply-demand curves anymore, because you’re choking back sorrow and tears.

On Sept. 11, 2001, no one knew what to think. Our minds were void of images of mass panic and people covered in dust of destroyed buildings. No one could conceive of such an event or the horror.

Yesterday morning, reading that headline, the same vivid, unshakable images flashed like strobes. I could imagine, and worse yet, believe that people were fully capable of committing such horrible atrocities. This is the unfortunate time we live in and an example of the dangers free societies must confront with fortitude and strength.

As the media swarmed to cover London’s most recent tragedy, and the photos and reports made their way to waiting eyes across the world, one thing became clear: the war against terrorism is far from over. As Prime Minister Tony Blair addressed his nation and all listening ears around the globe, he highlighted we are indeed facing barbaric enemies who will make anyone a victim of their twisted ideologies.

I’ll never be able to understand what kind of human being can wake up in the morning and go forward with the intention to murder innocent people. What I can understand, however, is the concept of freedom.

Freedom is being able to life your life, practice your liberties and pursue your own happiness without intruding upon another’s ability to do so. I believe this is a concept that should be a reality for anyone, and also a concept worth defending. A free society cannot imagine a world without these basic fundamentals. A free society must work to ensure not only its own survival, but also encourage these beliefs in places where the concept is distant from reality.

The bombings have taken the lives of nearly three dozen and injured hundreds more. It is no coincidence that these actions of terrorism came during a time when leaders of the free world gathered for the Group of Eight summit in Scotland.

The group claiming responsibility calls themselves “The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe,” and their attack comes in response to Great Britain’s involvement in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. It is without a doubt they are an explicit enemy of the free world and the society that you and I cherish. It is my hope that the international community will work together closely and efficiently so that those killed and injured in these heinous acts will have the justice they deserve.

Our nation rallied together when we found ourselves under attack by an enemy that defied conventions and Great Britain immediately stepped to our aid. Now, as Great Britain has come under attack, it is time to join the rest of the international community to rally behind them in their moment of grief.

Great Britain has been our ally and supported us in our time of despair. It is only fair to return the favor and keep the victims and their families in our hearts and minds. When the families of victims form charity organizations to help those coping with the loss and trials of these bombings, I hope you and the rest of this nation will answer the call as we have in other international tragedies.

Four days ago we celebrated our freedom as a nation, but now we must be required to ensure these freedoms continue to be protected.

In darkest day, in blackest night … let no evil escape our sight.

Kiyoshi Martinez is a senior in journalism. He can be reached at [email protected].