An Apathetic View on Terrorism

Terrorism, as a martial art, has been practiced in varying forms since the dawn of tactical warfare. The etymology of words like Zealot and Assassin can be traced back to groups that performed some of the earliest recorded acts of terrorism. The Greeks and the Romans engaged in state sponsored terrorism,( One example being biological terrorism, the Romans used the carcasses of dead animals to poison water supplies of their enemies.) and many other groups across the globe used acts of terror to demoralize and defeat the opposition. But throughout history, Terrorism, as a philosophy and as a formal practice, wasn’t necessarily unique or outside the framework and concept of warfare. Some historians believe that terrorism as a term was coined as a result of the French Revolution. The leaders of the Revolution were attributed with using a reign of terror and many French scholars deemed the the system or rule of terror as a tactic or a tool. Both of these analysis are widely considered to be the at the heart of the modern definition of the word.

Flash forward to the 20th century. Practical terrorism has been used more and more since the 17th century, by varying people and groups, which amounts to a defacto reshaping the ideology terror into innumerable variations. From the Bay of Biscay and Vizcaya to the foothills in Sierra Maestra, from the streets of Gaza to the Palk Strait, all sorts of ideologically diverse entities have taken up arms and committed terrorist act. Some in the name of justice and liberation, some under the guise of nationalist reform.

So. . . where am I going with this?

Well, the question I have is, why should I be afraid of Terrorism in 2005? I have a statistically higher chance of being hit by a drunk driver or shot in the commission of a non-terrorist related crime, then I do of being the victim of a terrorist attack in the United States of America. In fact I will go even further and ask why should anyone feels any kind of angst over terrorism? Apart from the Military and Journalists, how do the violent acts of terrorism effect me and the people I love?

The obvious (and what many people may find disturbing) fact is, is that terrorism and terrorists in action, have very little direct effect on the majority of people living in the U.S..

Yes, 9/11 took the lives of 3000 people.

Yes, if terrorist have the opportunity to strike again, they will take full advantage and kill as many people as possible, ending the lives of Humans with little regard for the pain it will cause.

I would never disagree with either statement. But neither of those things scare me either.

The issue I’m having a difficult time with is; finding enough common ground to compromise with the people I dissent from. For example, many people feel that ending terrorism, specifically Radical Muslim terrorism, is the most important issue facing our nation today. And if that means the United States needs to act in a pre-emptive manner, so be it.
I can only shake my head at such an opinion.

In my opinion the most powerful tool in terror’s arsenal is the ability to change and reshape a culture. I would rather die a victim of terrorism then conform to radical terrorist ideology, and I thought that more people felt the same way. But, if our reaction to 9/11 is any indication, the most prolific approach regarding terrorism is to kill all the terrorists. . . and that is effectively terrorism. And that frightens me more then all the Usama Bin Ladens that haunt the world.

“The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.”—–President George W. Bush

This a quote from the Sept. 20th speech Pres. Bush made before the congress of the United States. This is an example of the wrong tool to use to fight terrorism, in my opinion. If we are to make the idea of using terror as a weapon unacceptable, we must rely on the absence of violence, and rely on the rule of law. We can never assimilate with terror to destroy it.

Freedom is not at odds with fear.

Justice sometimes needs to be cruel.

But the past five years have unfolded just as we’ve seen on the Evening News. Regardless of political division, the “Global war on Terror” is the device and the “spread of Freedom” is the plan.

This is why I, in the most basic and honest sense, am apathetic to terrorism. I don’t care if I die because of terrorism. What control do I have over that? None.

I do care that in order to “live safely” our civil rights are being eroded right in front of us. And this attack to our rights is being carried out in plain sight. . . right in front of us, under the guise of Patriotism. If we continue to refuse to think in a critically, if we continue to fight ourselves, and continue to endorse the very feeling of terror we think we are fighting, we have lost our “war.”

This wind tunnel of rhetoric we reside inside, this “live-action” movie that plays out in neat little soundbytes just off in the distance, allows too many us the ability to feign concern about our soldiers and about the victims of terror, without feeling. We are almost expected at this point to grin and bear it. “Times are tough,” they say. “Suck it up.”
Sucking it up is the first step on the path to apathy.