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
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