The Subtleties Of Terror

This morning I found myself in a sleepless mode. As I was watching a show called "The 100 Most Important Television Moments" on the TVLand cable network I saw some clips on the terrorists at the Munich Olympics. It struck me as they were showing news footage that most of the terrorist actions taken throughout history have involved three basic types of ideology: religious, political or insane.

RELIGIOUS IDEOLOGY: An extreme, and often erroneous, interpretation of religious doctrines that calls for violent action against others, usually in the name of a deity (God, Allah, Satan, etc.) in which the terror is given credit for being a) the deity's will, b) for the glorification of the deity, or c) for the benefit of "infidels" and non-believers. Often there are other issues, including racism, bigotry, nationalism and economics tied into the religious foundations. As we review history we can find such actions taking place under all sorts of banners, including (but not limited to) the following:

• The Christian Crusades
• The Olympic Hostages During
• The Munich Olympics
• The Spanish Inquisition
• The Suicide Bombings In Israel and Palestine
• The Bombings In Northern Ireland (And Elsewhere)
• The Overthrow Of The Shah In Iran (US Hostages)
• The Suicide Punch Consumed By Followers Of Jim Jones
• The Riots During India's Quest For Independence
• The Kamikaze Pilots During WWII
• The Actions Of The Taliban In Afghanistan (& Parts Of Pakistan)
• The Death Of Branch Davidian Adventists/Government Agents In Waco Texas
• The Persecution Of Druze, Ba'Hai & Other Religions In Muslim Countries
• The Persecution Of Mormons In The 1800s
• The Massacres Of Native American Peoples
• The Killing Of Doctors Performing Abortions By Ultra-Conservative Christians
• The Taking Of Hostages In Remote Areas Of The Philippines
• The Actions Of KKK & Other White Supremacist Groups Based On Religion
• The Persecution & Murder Of Christian "Heretics" (e.g. Albigenses, Hugenots)
• The Persecution & Murder Of Kurds In Turkey, Irag, Iran & Elsewhere
• The Armenian Massacres
• The Holocaust

POLITICAL IDEOLOGY: An extreme view of politics involving nationalism, racism, elitism, cultural relativism, or other factors that usually results in some form of killing, including sprees, bombings, battles, or war. Often associated with religious ideologies, or propaganda regarding a threat to a way of life, this type of terrorism is often associated with a small group that targets the disenfranchised in a culture or society. All too often there is a motive involving absolute political or economic power involved in the ideology. In most cases there is some sort of economic issue or reward involved. As we review history we can find such actions taking place under all sorts of banners, including (but not limited to) the following:

• The Actions Of Pol Pot & The Khmer Rouge
• Hitler & The Nazi Party
• The Tamil Tigers & Sri Lanka's Majority
• The US Civil War
• The Christian Crusades
• The Ruby Ridge Incident
• The Actions Of Corsican Separatists
• The Watts Riots
• The Actions Of The Palestinian Liberation Organization
• The Actions & Reactions Of The Israeli Government
• The My Lai Massacre
• The Vietnam War (French & US Versions)
• The Overthrow Of Democracy In Myanmar
• The Actions Of The Irish Republican Army
• The Actions & Reactions Of The British Government To IRA Actions
• The Actions Of Pinochet (Chile)
• The Actions Of Peron (Argentina)
• The Alliances That Caused WWI
• The Alliances That Caused WWII
• The Abuse Of Iraqi (et al) Prisoners By US Troops
• The Entire Cold War
• The US Invasion Of Iraq (2nd Incident)
• The Bombing Of The USS Cole
• The Attack On Pearl Harbor
• The Al-Qaeda Attacks Around The World
• The Terrorist Actions Of Basque Separatists
• The Various Forms Of Organized Crime (Drug Cartels, Mafia, Triads, etc.)

INSANE IDEOLOGY: Insanity is its own motive. The terror we see involved in insane terror includes serial murderers; spree murderers; sniper murderers; bombers; individuals shooting people in churches, synagogues or mosques; or other actions that are not fully supported by any particular group or party. The term "insane" is not used in the legal sense, but in the sense of demonstrating that the thinking of the person(s) involved is not in touch with reality. There is usually some manifestation of psychological symptoms indicating inadequate personality, aggressive egocentricity, delusions, and acts that are so out of control that they shock our senses to our very being. Throughout history we have great examples, but the most recent history involves a great number from highly industrialized nations, including the United States.

• Charles Whitman - Sniper From The Tower In Texas
• Adolph Hitler - Nazi War Criminal
• Theodore Kaczynski - The Una Bomber
• Mao Tse-Tung
• Hermann Goering - Nazi War Criminal
• Jeffrey Dahmer - Cannibal Serial Murderer
• Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi - Shah of Iran
• Augusto Pinochet - Military Dictator of Chile
• Osama bin Laden - Al Qaeda Terrorist
• Pol Pot - Cambodian Dictator
• Richard Speck - Serial Murderer
• General Ne Win - Military Leader: Myanmar
• Adolph Eichman - Nazi War Criminal
• Ted Bundy - Serial Murderer
• Albert DeSalvo (??) - Boston Strangler
• Rudolph Hess - Nazi War Criminal
• Jack The Ripper
• Saddam Hussein - Chemical Weapons Against Kurds & Dissident Iraqis

The lists noted above reveals frequent overlapping of the religious, political and insane ideology. The fact that these events occurred is an indictment of people throughout history for a) falling victim to religious ideologies that ignore or negate basic human rights; b) falling prey to charismatic leaders who preach to the basest notions of the human experience (nationalism, racism, prejudice, bigotry, hatred, greed, power, etc.); or c) inherent insanity. None of us get up in the morning and contemplate the annihilation of a group of people, the murder of strangers, or the use of power to control or kill others without first having a inkling that we are seriously deranged. Zealous religiosity is considered a psychiatric symptom, which helps us identify those afflicted with mental disorders. Aggressive egocentricity is also a psychiatric symptom and generally considered a sign that a person is intolerable in most social settings.

The point is that there appears to be a) a lack of education, b) a sense of naiveté and/or being easily misled by twisted facts or ideas, c) an abnormal thinking pattern involving rage, d) a perverted understanding of religious, political or economic principles, or e) a perverted sense of nationalism, racism, or other form of identity underlying both sides of the terror equation. We human beings are all too often convinced to participate in terror because we do not take the time to center ourselves on values and principles that withstand scrutiny among others. Terrorism works because it hides openly among us and its extreme nature, once fully revealed, shocks us to our core. We try not to think of such things because we do not encounter them in our ordinary lives. Usually terrorism is somewhere else. Terror usually occurs in isolation. Those terror events that do affect us personally are still seen as "incidents" rather than a constant state of affairs. Even when we are unwilling participants (e.g. My Lai Massacre), we see the terror as aberrant behavior or isolated cases. We even try to treat these events as isolated cases in our courts and reactions to the terror. Then, too, once terror is fully revealed, our governments then justify taking horrendous retaliations in the name of "justice". Many times we are led to believe that such terror is in the best interest of our society or nation. We trust our leaders to have altruistic values and intentions, so we don't pay much attention to these issues until they become "news." Far too often we are misled, fed ideology as propaganda, and endorse the terror.

We need to stop and think things through. If we truly apply principles of justice (over revenge), good government, and human rights, then we will avoid terror. While we will never stop the insanity of some, we can, through careful application of first principles, keep many from getting caught up in the process and ideological thinking. Putting first principles into action requires us to think through the presenting problems and endorse solutions that do not use conflict as a first resort or resource.

I have served as a sailor and soldier in the armed services of the United States. I am a patriot that believes the Constitution as a sacred text. I know that sometimes conflict and war are the only options. But conflict, invasion, war and other violent actions should never be our first consideration. If a country, religion, ethnic group, political party, leaders seek terror, conflict or war, we must ask why this is the right course of action. God doesn't need to be glorified by war. Those in power that seek war need to be ousted from office. Those that seek to control others need to be restrained and removed from power. Those that are insanely violent need to be confined away from general society. But blowing up a bus full of innocent people never solves a problem…. But it sure does entice us to react with our basest emotions.

Septemeber 23, 2005