Dark and Darker

The temperature is changing.  In every way.  One minute we are dealing with air conditioning and then it's the concern over freezing pipes.
One minute it's the solid red Starbuck's cup and the disappearance of holiday symbols and the next we're on high terror alert.
The President of France declares, "We are at war."  Ten U.S. governors simultaneously say they will not accept any Syrian refugees.  A few of them conveniently forget they once were refugees who fled the political consequences for their families in difficult times.

The sabres are rattling and the machine is crying for oil.  The bombs are already falling and as the season of Peace on Earth Goodwill towards mankind approaches, we have collective PTSD.
If our hair and beards are darker than most, we have cause for concern.
As a culture we like our wars to be the "good war" variety and our warriors to come from the "greatest" generations.  After the recent events in Paris (November 2015) we may get plenty of both.
If our values with the forces of evil that ISIS represents are in conflict, so too are our values among one another in question.  Will the real Islam please stand up?  How can we know what is the bigger threat, our intolerant enemy or our intolerant compatriots?  Both?
The mood feels dark and darker.  If innocents can die so quickly, something must be done immediately.  It's a little like The War of the Worlds.  The antidote to conflict and confusion among ourselves can be a common enemy.  Trouble is, we can't always see or define the foe here.  It's a real guerrilla war because the enemy doesn't always wear a uniform.  So we suspect and we assume to the point of assumicide.  It's a good time to make new traditions.