At this point it should be clear that the term “terrorism,” as used by our government, refers specifically to radical Muslims who are willing to inflict death and mayhem upon a civilian population in order to establish and enforce a society based upon a strict and conservative form of Islam. If we agree on that then we understand we are basically fighting a war against a train of thought. It could also be reasonably argued that whether we like it or not we are involved in a “holy” war – a clash of cultures, and a battle over beliefs.
So are we fighting this war the right way? My personal belief based on an incomplete and basic understanding of human nature is that we are not employing the right tactics and that in many instances we are only exacerbating the problem by fighting a belief system with military reaction.
I’ve said it before but I believe we missed a golden opportunity to turn the other cheek when we were attacked on September 11th, 2001. Nineteen people did the unthinkable. Nineteen people. We had a chance to unite the world, to demonstrate that we are a tolerant nation based on law but not on vengeance. Instead we reacted violently, carpet bombing civilians in Afghanistan, leveling football field sized swaths of people with cluster bombs dropped from B-52’s. We were indiscriminant in our reaction.
Then we inexplicably turned our sites on Iraq. We’ve carried through on the old adage of “bombing them back to the stone-age.” We turned the metropolitan city of Baghdad, one of the birth-places of civilization, into rubble. People there die every single day trying to buy food for their families. A recently released British memo states that the methodology used by census takers who estimated between 600,000 and 650,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in the War on Iraq is sound and robust. 650,000 people – 2.5 percent of Iraq’s total population. That’s over 200 times more people than were killed in the attacks on the twin towers. How much blood do we demand in vengeance?
We’ve created fear, unemployment, desperation, and hatred. These are the very emotions and conditions that make a strict totalitarian regime feasible. These were the exact conditions that existed in Germany after World War One and lead to the rise of Adolph Hitler and the Third Reich.
When a people are beaten and humiliated to a point where they are forced to live like animals that is when religious extremism rises up. Through our actions we are beating ourselves in the very war we created.
Borat’s slip of the tongue is apropos, this isn’t a war on terror, it is a war of terror. We’re showing the world that we can kill more people than anyone and we’re right. But you can’t kill an idea with the military.
The solution to “terrorism” is pretty simple. You need to provide people with a more attractive alternative. That means bolstering economies, promoting education, encouraging cross-cultural communication and tolerance. Easier said than done for sure but why do I feel like we are working hard at moving in the wrong direction?
Same Goes for Immigration
I get frustrated with the over-emphasis on illegal immigration that’s been going on lately. Honestly my feeling is this – if some Central American or Mexican makes it into this country and then with little or no education, no valid identification and not even a strong grasp of the language “takes your job” then you must be one stupid worthless ignorant motherfucker. Sorry, that’s just the way I feel. We have one of the best educational systems in the world and as American citizens we have so many advantages that illegal immigrants do not.
People travel to this country because their own countries have crap economies and they want to make some money. These are the people we should want in our work-force.
Ignoring the Writing on the Wall
Of course if we keep plowing ahead like we are, ignoring the economic writing on the wall and spending more than we’re earning then we may all find ourselves sneaking into Mexico looking for work. We have an aging population that we are not going to be able to afford – our medical system is broken, and Bush’s war without end is going to strain the nation financially for decades to come. The divide between the rich and poor grows wider every second while the politicians squabble over “non-binding resolutions” and try and figure out whose going to run for President twenty some odd months from now. It really makes me wonder what the Hell is going on around here.
Kind of makes you wish you
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