Dateline: September 12, 2005

Terrorism

Terrorism is an awesome word particularly in today’s world. It is something that always was associated with other people of the world, never Americans, and never on US soil. If an alien spaceship landed on the White House lawn, our lives and living in the world would be changed forever. On September 11, 2001, we might as well have had such an event for on that day our society and how we live was changed forever by terrorism. Orson Well’s “War of the Worlds” is the perfect metaphor.

And, Irony of ironies there are actually those among us, Americans, no less, who would suggest that terrorism is both legal and ethical and that somehow we all need to be punished for the alleged excesses of our own political grand design over the past couple hundred years. Frederic Bastiat, the 19th century French philosopher, so enamored with the freedom philosophy wrought on the world by America, has to be rolling over in his grave.

I often wonder if these folks are not communist sleeper cells plucked down all over the world for eventual Soviet world domination and put here by them in the 50’s and now emerging at just the right time to sow these anarchist thoughts. But even this fantasy does not take us far away from the fact that these terrorist sympathizers are among us. They are Americans or perhaps a dissatisfied member of another free society, all of whom are enjoying the right to think freely and concluding we need to be punished for it. This self-loathing gives them the benefit of the doubt in a free society and thus their definition of terrorism evolves into a politically correct description of what people do, in their minds, when they become “freedom fighters”. If their objective is to tear down anything influenced by America and by whatever means, even if it involves killing the infirm, the old, women and children, they conclude - so be it.

Let’s look at what terrorism really is. Terrorism in its basest form is indiscriminate intimidation. Certainly, every bully in the world understands the basic concept and probably thinks that they make and write the ethic. In a relativistic world, this is possible. Only trouble is that today’s modern terrorist don’t believe in a relativistic ethic yet use the relativism to justify their morality in a free society.

Terrorists believe in their ethic and if that ethic is not yours, even though our society permits you to adopt whatever ethic you desire, watch out. You either convert to their morality or you die. Can’t get much simpler than that. How convinced are they that they are correct in their single-minded morality? Well, do you need much more proof that they are willing to blow themselves up and everyone around them to prove it and that there are no shortage of volunteers? Not only is it possible, it is the ultimate justification among the terrorists to morally approve their terrorism and terrorist tactics in the Middle East, Africa, Afghanistan, America, Indonesia, Spain, England and all other points on the globe.

So, let’s borrow a phrase. “What’s the bottom line?”

Ethical conduct engenders the worldwide accepted concept of “do no harm”. Note too that this universally accepted maxim is not an obligation to do good, it is just is an obligation to “do no harm.” Blowing oneself up is one thing. Blowing oneself up with a whole bunch of innocents around is quite another. Therefore, if this is the concept of modern terrorism then it is absolutely unethical on its face and a major Cancer for any society that wants self-determination and the right to choose their own direction and beliefs.

How do we rid ourselves of this malignancy? “Simply” as my neighbor suggests, “you cut it out.” That pretty well summarizes the thinking of most of the citizens of free societies everywhere.

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