During a week that will surely go down as one of the saddest in recent world history, hundreds of innocent people died in malicious and militaristic attacks all over the world. Yet the American population will inevitably be left in the dark regarding parts of what happened last Thursday and Friday.

The entire world watched in horror as extremist terrorists, who have been identified as members of the Islamic State otherwise known as “ISIS”, simultaneously attacked multiple different locations in the French capital of Paris. 129 people died in Paris, according to the latest information from CNN, and the entire civilized world has supported the French nation in its time of struggle.

But the day before the cowardly murderers attempted to terrorize the European nation, there was heartbreak in the small Middle-Eastern country of Lebanon. On Thursday, a small group of suicide attackers killed 43 people and injured at least 239 others in the state’s capital city of Beirut. Lebanon, a nation that borders Syria (where “ISIS” has been battling many different forces for months), has been contributing to some of the coordinated attacks against the Islamic State. But the relatively peaceful nation, which has only joined the tumultuous fight for defensive purposes, has been ravaged by terrorists time and time again within the past few years.

So why hasn’t the world come to Lebanon’s aid in the same manner that we have all supported those directly affected by the attacks in France? While the uplifting support that has been almost universally presented to Parisians has been inspiring and staggeringly benevolent, people involved in the events in Beirut deserve the same support. So why haven’t they received it?

The situations, while obviously different in some ways, both should similarly not be taken lightly. With the threat of terrorism becoming more overwhelming with every day that passes by, the American people deserve to know about and have the opportunity to support the innocent people that refuse to be defeated by these cowards. And it is the responsibility of  U.S. news sources, no matter their political affiliation, to present to the American populous the facts regarding the ongoing fight against terrorism, wherever that may be. Just because American citizens may view themselves as more “similar” to French citizens does not mean that the Lebanese should be left out of the “western” world’s thoughts and prayers.

In the midst of an issue that the media is attempting to cover both fairly and delicately, people everywhere must try to view the both of the tragedies as important in the United States’ fight to combat terrorism all over the globe. But U.S. citizens can only do that if they are cognitive of the irrevocable truth.