Over the past week, I’ve sat back rather quietly and watched as everyone and their mom voiced an opinion on the recent U.S. military military action in Syria.

For those of you who don’t know, or don’t understand what has occurred, on April 6, U.S. Navy destroyers in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Al Shayrat airfield, a Syrian air base, which housed warplanes that reportedly carried out a chemical attack on Syrian citizens earlier that week.

According to the Syrian Army, the American strike resulted in six deaths. The Russian military is also present at that base but was warned ahead of time and avoided the strike.

Despite this, Russia has harshly criticized the attack and theU.S. has responded with heavy criticism of the presence of chemical weapons after a promise was made to have all of Syria’s stockpile destroyed in 2013.

Chemical weapons are considered weapons of mass destruction and the use of them violates the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Now, the responses I have heard and seen over the past few days has troubled me deeply. The amount of criticism I have seen against Trump for this strike bothers me.

I genuinely believe that when something like chemical weapons are used, against anyone, then it is the responsibility of everyone to step up and step in. I don’t understand how anyone could possibly suggest that we sit idly by while monsters attack each other with a weapon of mass destruction.

I have heard people say, “Well how do we know that this was an attack carried out by the Assad regime? It could have been anyone!”

To that I say this, if there are chemical weapons present, and we know where they are, and that they’ve been used, then it is our responsibility as the one the strongest militaries in the world to use our incredible military presence in that area to deal with the problem.

This isn’t the U.S. just trying to pick a fight with a random nation or wanting to have another war in the Middle East, this is the U.S. finally standing up for what’s right and potentially saving more innocent civilian lives.

We need to stop being afraid of what our public might think, or what the rest of the world might think or say about us if we get involved. Let’s stop being on the wrong side of history.

When the Rwandan genocide happened we didn’t do anything and between 500,000 and 1,000,000 people died while the U.S. and other major nations were reluctant to step in. When Iraq used chemical weapons against the Kurds nobody stepped in. 3,200 to 5,000 people died and it left lasting effects, the U.S. did nothing against Iraq and we even blamed Iran.

Listen, I’m not trying to be a war hawk, but we as a nation, we’re witnessing an atrocity, a legitimate war crime happening before our own eyes and we’re busy arguing over what Trump said about military action years ago.

Well now we have a chance to stand up and make it clear to the world that use of these weapons won’t be tolerated and that committing crimes against humanity will no longer come without punishment.