That Infamous Word: Terrorism

I know, I know.. you've heard it a thousand times.  Probably more times in the past few years than anyone in the history of mankind up until 9/11/2001.  

But let's forget all that for a second.  Terrorism is defined as:  the use of terror and violence to intimidate, subjugate, etc., especially as a political weapon or policy.  This definition is greatly important in politics.  Anything that falls under this definition is terrorism in the political spectrum.  As I continue, please don't forget that.  It is extremely basic and extremely stripped down.  No connotations, no context, no races, no colors, no religions, no nothing.

Using violence to intimidate and/or subjugate.  

That said, anyone can be a terrorist.  If I go into 7-11 around the corner and threaten violence to achieve a sort of end, I am a terrorist.  You know the postal worker joke that goes on and on?  When those postal workers "went postal," they became terrorists.  Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris became terrorists when they rolled into Columbine with guns drawn and blazing.

Timothy McVeigh committed the largest act of terrorism on American soil when he bombed Oklahoma City.  He was a terrorist.  (I only say was because he has been executed)

Notice, I left out our boy Osama and his cronies... Al Qaeda.  We'll get to them in a minute... or maybe I won't have to.

Okay so, we've defined terrorism in it's most basic form and given real life examples of it.  The next step is to understand it from a political perspective.  Make no mistake, this is a very complex issue and after studying it in great detail I have gained a serious appreciation for the delicate underpinnings of negotiating with terrorists.  But wait, I digress... and I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.

First of all, because terrorism is so basic and so easy to undertake (remember my 7-11 example), TERRORISM CANNOT BE STOPPED.

I will repeat that.  TERRORISM CANNOT BE STOPPED.  So now you're asking yourself, well, why do I keep hearing from politicians on the left and right, in all Western countries, saying that we must stop terrorism?

Well, they don't have the time and don't want to get into it.  They're using the term loosely to refer to a specific set or group of terrorists.  See, politicians don't usually explain things in terms that the layman can understand.  (That's what I'm here for!  Yay!)  They not only don't have the time, they do not care.  It does not matter to them if you understand exactly what they are talking about.  They are trying to achieve and end, and they describe it in terms to where it plays on your interests.  (I hope you remember that word from yesterday!)  If you believe that the political agenda they are undertaking is to your benefit, things are fine and dandy... they officially have approval from you to move on with their quest.

--As an aside, another reason why politicians do not lay things out in plain English for us is that the media will not allow it.  Political discourse on television and radio has been so truncated and limited, that the average political news clip has been sliced from over a minute per, in the 1970s, to around 15 seconds.  Knowing this, how can they possibly explain all of these things to you?  Furthermore, why bother?--  FYI, I will have blogs later on that will discuss the media's role in all of this.

The real crux of dealing with terrorism and terrorists has to do with the nature of the act.  Terrorists inherently want something.  They want to achieve some sort of end and have willfully decided to chose violence to achieve that end.  For a politician, this is extremely complicated and not fun to deal with.  See, by sitting down with a terrorist and negotiating, the politician concedes that the act has worked!  He or she officially acknowledges that terrorism will get one's voice heard, and that is extremely counterproductive to modern society.

By taking part in the society we live in, we inherently agree that we will abide by laws and use political mediums to discuss our problems and change or create new laws.  That's part of the deal, whether you like it or not.  If you want something changed, paths to your goals have been laid out for you to do so, and in turn, you are provided with a place to pursue your dreams and goals.  If you break this code, you turn society on its head.  If a politician, police officer, teacher, or authority figure of any kind acknowledges your terrorist activities and begins to negotiate with you, he or she has rewarded you for doing so.

I hope you understand how this puts the politician in a ridiculous predicament.  It is not acceptable for any politician to negotiate with a terrorist.  You have heard this before and I hope it makes more sense now.  So what's the solution, you ask?

Well really, it's more of a preventive measure than anything.  The only way to really do it is to get people to understand that there are better ways to get things accomplished.  There are better ways to get your opinion out there and get people behind you.  In the marketplace of ideals, if you have a good idea, people will support it and follow you --that's another blog, by the way--.  

The point that you all should understand is that it's not easy dealing with terrorism.  The only way to really prevent it is to be sure it doesn't happen.  Unfortunately people are rebellious, dissidents exist, and there will always be forms of terrorism.  Keeping them small, however, is the key.  Letting things boil over to create vast networks of people with one goal mind, terrorizing you and your state or people, means you waited too long to get people to understand you.

This is the fundamental reason that we are being targeted right now by Al Qaeda.  They do not understand our way of life and they think we are all part of an evil machine, attempting to oppress them and subjugate them to our lifestyle and ideals.  Whether or not that is true, will be debated further on in my blogging career.  (That's gonna have to be a masterpiece.)  

In my next post I'm going to delve into the topic though, because I will discuss our current "battle with terrorism" and WHY we are in Iraq and Afghanistan.  In it, I will explain the Neo-Con Perspective, which our current administration subscribes to.  It will clear up much of why we're there.  I know you're all excited for that one.  

Luckily, it all ties together and you'll be learning all sorts of useful things over the coming months.  I hope this helped you understand the bundle of problems that terrorism is.

-Travis

How You Make A Difference

I know this is a bit basic… but I feel it needs to be said. Politics are all about INTERESTS.

Interests are the Holy Grail of politics. It's not about me versus you or them versus us, it's about what you're interested in and what I'm interested in. Is protecting your right to bear arms one of your interests? What about the legality of abortion? Lower taxes? Universal Health Care?

Political Issues are not things that we are necessarily opposed to or in favor of, these are topics that some people care deeply about and some people care little about. Obviously your opinions on each political topic will run the whole gamut of the political spectrum.

Chances are you are not a politician or a lawyer, and therefore you must elect politicians to protect your interests! They aren't there to solve all of your problems or make your life inherently easier, they are there to represent your political interests. They are your medium for expressing your feelings and opinions about particular things in the political realm. Unfortunately, most of the polity (that's you, the voting public) does not engage their politicians to make sure they're protecting their interests.

When a politician is elected, he or she automatically follows a party line, that is, represents the basic interests of his or her political group or party. (In this country, most elected officials are either Democratic or Republican.) He or she will represent the interests of the party in all political negotiations, no matter what they are concerning. However, the elected official is also responsible for the interests of all people in his district, city, county, state, or country, whichever it may be. (That's why being President is such a hard job, you have to protect EVERYONE'S interests! Sound hard? It is… if not impossible.) That said, it's your job to let your representative know that you have specific interests and you want specific things done!

Writing your congressman is the easiest way to do this, but I bet none of you have even thought about it! Not only are they there to be your representative, they are there to listen! If they don't know what is bothering you or your group of friends or your small town, how do you expect things to change? You must let your representatives feel your presence and make them understand your interests! Trust me, things can and do change through this method of political interaction.

While this is all well and good for the issues that affect a small town or district (even big ones), writing a letter to the Governor or the President probably isn't going to have such a meaningful impact. For these very reasons, the framers of our country set us up with a system of interest groups.

–A little history lesson for you, interest groups were born out of the "Right to Petition" contained in the First Amendment–

Now you've read this phrase, interest group, and I do not doubt that you have heard it before. Chances are, however, that you heard about interest groups in a negative context, something about "special" interest groups, referencing favoritism in government. This is a bastardization of the concept of interest groups.

Politicians may say that their opponents cater to special interests or are influenced by lobbyists. Let me tell you something, they ALL ARE. Interest groups are the strongest force to express interests in politics in this country, and there is nothing wrong with them. All politicians must cater to interests, but more so to interest GROUPS. You see, these are large conglomerations of political participants who are engaged in political activity and are in tune with the current political climate. If the NRA or AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), two of the largest and most influential interest groups, come knocking on your door as a politician, you listen.

This is the same as a letter to your congressman with signatures of everyone in your neighborhood on it, just multiplied for the larger scale of government, Congress. Interest groups are the means by which large groups of people express their feelings and interests to the leaders of this country. The best part of it all is that you can virtually form an interest group about anything.

Have you seen the South Park episode about NAMBLA? Well, the North American Man Boy Love Association was a real, legitimate (well, that may be disputed) interest group! Yes, this is rather disturbing, but this is the same means by which NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) gets their opinions heard in Congress in order to change laws so patients can get medically prescribed marijuana (and others, of course). Obviously, someone like NAMBLA won't get much attention from politicians, but let's say it were something a bit more meaningful. Let's go with The Skateboarding Association of American Adults. If you started this interest group and got yourself 500,000 members who were active, voting, citizens, the Skateboarders in this country would officially have a voice so you could get more skate parks built, more laws repealed, whatever the case may be.

If a politician has an interest group knocking on his door and they have a lot of support, he has to listen. This is how things get done up at the top. The representatives cannot be your voice and cannot represent your interests if they don't know what they are.

If you want to be active in politics or you want your opinions to be heard, join an interest group… they de facto, share the same interests as you and will represent each specific opinion you have on your behalf.

The ability to change the world exists, you just have to use the proper means. I hope this has helped you understand a bit more. If you'd like more information on political interest groups in the United States, try checking this out .

Also, if you want to contact your local representatives, you can do so through your local government websites.

Happy politicking!

-Travis

Welcome!

Sick of wading through pages and pages of political rhetoric? Sick of listening to political pundits act like they're saying important and monumental things when you know deep down that they're blowing hot air?

Want to know what it all means?

Well, you've come to the right place. Each evening I'll chose a different political topic and discuss it, for the benefit of all. So you KNOW more, so you can speak eloquently and intelligently about a specific political topic… and hopefully impress some people!

We may get nasty, we may get offensive, but please let us know when we get out of line. The point of this weblog is to educate, not berate.

Thanks for visiting!

-Travis