Fear Fest: Terrorism!
OCTOBER 24th, Terrorism
“Be a terror to the butchers, that they may be faith in their weight; and keep hucksters and fraudulent dealers in awe, for the same reason.”
-Miguel de Cervantes
Wow, 7 days of fear left. Quite the journey we’ve been on. I’ve got some good fears lined up for this week. Some of them are abstract; some of them are very real. So let’s dive into today’s fear.
Terrorism is a trendy fear for some, and a constant threat for others. Me personally, I don’t subscribe to it. Mostly because I’m not on the front lines. I don’t work overseas in an embassy or consulate. I’m not a soldier or a contractor in a dangerous country. Those people have a legitimate reason to fear.
What is terrorism anyway? Here in America its common place to put a turban on it and say it’s a Muslim. The problem I have with classifying people as terrorists is that it’s an ideology, not a race. I get it, we no longer have the Russians, and the only commies left are the Chinese, and we owe them too much money to point our angst towards them. North Korea is a joke that has an expiration date. So we find an abstract nebulous term like terrorism to fight. It’s brilliant. There’s no home country, it’s never going away. There will always be an enemy to aim our war machine at. No, I’m not forgetting September 11th. The people who perpetrated that were terrorist first and Muslims second … or third or fourth. They may have been madmen second and murders third.
The side effects of terrorism can be just as scary. Just as people can do some sick and twisted shit in the name of religion, people can do some horrible things in the name of defending against terrorism. Whether you think our officials are using the threat of terror to create a fascist country or if you think our liberal ways will kill us isn’t the issue here. Both can be concerns for people domestically.
Terrorism knows no flag, no boarders. There are no accords or treaty one signs to become a terrorist and what is terrorism to one is acceptable to another. How about what you Americans did to the Native Americans (I say ‘You Americans’ because my family didn’t come here until 1908, so when it comes to the genocide of the Indians and slavery, I’m blameless). That was certainly terrorism. Herded from their lands, slaughtered, poisoned, infected. That was some sick and twisted shit. But that doesn’t count because we’re civilized now right?
Wow, I’m getting off topic. I don’t really want to delve into socioeconomics and geopolitics. Nor do I really want to rehash the past. It’s the future I’m looking towards.
A terrorist is anyone that uses fear to get their way. It’s usually reserved for a global agenda however. So that bully on the school yard who threatened to kick your ass if you didn’t give him your lunch money; not a terrorist. But don’t get me wrong, he’s still a dick. However, one could argue that Al Gore is a terrorist. He used fear of global warming to generate money. Does this mean I should fear Al Gore? Probably not.
THE ANSWER: Terrorism doesn’t have to be a constant fear. Its ok to be cautious. I don’t mind taking the extra time at the airport to make sure I’m not boarding a guided missile. Also, I won’t be booking that vacation to Kandahar any time soon. The defense to terrorism and any crime really is vigilance. Since I’m not going to keep watch, I’ll support the ones that do.