Editorial : Fighting Terror
On the verge of the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks this nation
faces not only the continuing problem of terrorism, but also the
dangers inherit in a world full of madmen, in addition to the
inevitable erosion of freedoms in the name of safety. All of
these issues are fought with openness, not with close-mindedness.
It is only when minds are free to think and to believe that the dangers
of this world will lessen.
Since 9/11 this country has embarked on a so-called "War on
Terror." Sadly this war on terror uses fear as a weapon, the same
weapon the terrorists use. Those in power have formed their
method of fighting terrorism with more terror. It wasn't but a
few weeks ago that British authorities stopped a plot to explode liquid
based bombs on airplanes headed for the United States. The
response in the U.S. was immediate, no more liquids on carry-on
luggage. While the idea of keeping dangerous substances out of
possible terrorist hands is a good one, the majority of people now have
to fear someone drinking from a bottle of water. Is that really
water or is that something that's going to blow us up? The idea
that because some terrorists were planning on using liquid based
explosives causing the detention of every liquid, except maybe breast
milk, out of the hands of everyday passengers only serves to fuel the
fear traveler's have. It does very little but cause fear.
And in that sense the terrorist have another victory on their hands.
For when it comes to terrorism there is the idea that terrorist don't
have to continually place bombs in cars, or attempt to hijack
planes. The attack is not on the physical objects but rather on
our collective psyche. Keeping us in fear, and from living our
lives as normal as possible, is the job of the terrorist. It is
in that constant uneasy tension that they thrive. And so they
don't have to continually attack, they merely have to float rumors of
attacks on any number of targets to cause us to get into a panic.
And it is in that state of panic that the terrorist rely on.
Which brings us to what that constant state of panic means to you and
me. It not only means being fearful of everything, it also means
giving up what we supposedly believe in in order that we may someday
feel safe. We trade our beliefs for safety when we are in a state
of fear. The fact that we are willing to set aside our freedoms
and our beliefs for a false feeling of safety only serves to embolden
the terrorists. It was only recently that a court found the use
of wiretaps without a search warrant unconstitutional. Yet this
administration would have you think that this is wrong because it makes
law enforcement's job harder to do. Yes, it does, but the same
can be said for the reading of someone's Miranda rights.
Nevertheless, not reading someone their rights can cause a case against
a suspect to be dropped. These are the rules we have created to
live with, based upon our ideas of privacy and jurisprudence. But
in this state of fear we are willing to set aside those ideas for a
false sense of security.
The open exchange of ideas has always served as a catalyst for change
and improvement. It is when minds are closed that humans have
been subject to indignities and atrocities at the hands of governments
and other people. The open exchange of ideas fuels understanding
as well as change. There is a saying that one can not know
someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes. In talking
to someone one begins to take those first few steps of that mile.
In continued conversations the steps easily become a mile. We can
never know everything about a person, but we can certainly begin to
understand how their life is not dissimilar to our own in many
ways. Openness brings forth this exchange and empathy needed to
prevent indignities and atrocities from occurring. For once one
walks a mile in someone else's shoes they are less likely to want to
hurt that other person. Sadly what we have now are barriers
surrounding not only our countries but our ideas and our empathy.
We can not understand our enemy's point of view, and vice versa,
because we do not have any lines of communication with them. The
main weapon against the terrorist are not bombs, but rather ideas.
The idea of freedom is not inherit in the terrorist culture. On
the contrary, their ideas are based on following orders and not
thinking for oneself. There also needs to be a change in our own
way of thinking, one that changes the focus from the selfish individual
to the selfless. The giver is the person who most wants to help
themselves as well as others.
Fear has gripped our society in a way that cuts deep. It is
always lurking in the shadows of ignorance and warmongering, and in the
minds of those who would oppress us for their own profit.
