Rational, sober, logical citizens wonder what exactly the terrorists want. What purpose does it serve to fly planes into buildings, kill and maim police recruits by the hundreds, or blow up innocent commuters on mass transit? Such a question carries the assumption that there is a goal hidden beneath the madness.
Historically, terrorism has often been used to bring about a desired conclusion. The Irgun in Palestine pursued terrorist acts to achieve the state of Israel. The activists of the IRA sought a free Ireland without British garrisons or influence. The Russian Bolsheviks fought for food, money, and some semblance of personal power. In isolated pockets all over the globe, terrorist acts are being committed right now to give birth to political change, define a new national state, relieve the oppression of tyranny, or to economically and spiritually transform a society.
The current terrorists, the loosely organized confederation of Al Qaeda and its multiple offshoots, seem to have a different agenda. Their guiding philosophy appears to be anarchy: the absence of any structure or order at all. If they are merely anti-western, why blow up so many of their own people? If they want a fundamental Islamic society, why boycott the voting booth? If they want the United States out of Iraq, why attack the very security forces which are the only forces that can trigger an early withdrawal?
When we wonder what side they are one, we are led to the inevitable conclusion that they don't have a side. They are fanatics without a cause, soldiers without a country, commandos without a mission. They have no underlying goals except disruption. They are ideological nihilists: nothing is worthwhile, nothing has any value, nothing counts.
Spawned out of a deep hatred fostered by utter powerlessness, lack of direction, and a total loss of belief in themselves or anyone else, they live only to act out their hatred in actions designed to convince themselves that they somehow count for something. With no goals but widespread destruction, how can they win? They can wound the world to assuage their own pain but it can't get them anywhere because they have nowhere to go.
At the end of a war, soldiers return home with more, or less, successful adjustment to real life. The terrorists can never go home again. Their battle will never be over because fighting is all they have.
We use the phrase "The war on terror." To call it a war suggests that there are opposing views in conflict and that one view will eventually prevail. Since the terrorists have no view, they can never win unless the entire world is destroyed. Failing their ability to get their hands on immense stocks of nuclear or biological weapons, that is unlikely.
So what is the world to do? Stand idly by while the laughter of innocents continues and disrupted economies lead to mass desperation?
No, we continue to use soldiers, weapons, and military tactics to thwart their efforts and wipe out their toxic existence.
And we get back on the buses and subways, just as the great folks of London and Madrid are, and reclaim lives and lifestyles that do have meaning, that stand for something, that represent a goal and a future. The soldiers can continue their mop-up sweeps but it is the commuter who returns to work, the police recruit who continues to train, the farmer who continues to plant, the production worker who continues to assemble, and the doctor who continues to heal, who are the real victors.
Standing for something, anything, will, by default, always triumph over the empty darkness that the black flag of anarchy represents.
Virginia Bola is a licensed clinical psychologist with deep interests in Social Psychology and politics. She has performed therapeutic services for more than 20 years and has studied the effects of cultural forces and employment on the individual. The author of an interactive workbook, The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a monthly ezine, The Worker's Edge, she can be reached at http://drvirginiabola.blogspot.com
Wood Dale Chicago prom limo .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareThe more I study the dynamics of WWII the more... Read More
Many are very impressed with the NIMA (National Imagery and... Read More
Why is it that every single thing government does; it... Read More
The RSS is getting feedback from its 140 pracharaks or... Read More
North Korea and diplomatic games; something has to give and... Read More
History repeats itself, goes the cliche. It does so, perhaps,... Read More
We have seen an increase in Snowbirds from Northern States... Read More
Clint Eastwood recently plunged into the murky political pond with... Read More
IT'S NO LONGER NEWS THAT CHINA IS BECOMING A MAJOR... Read More
One question not addressed in GM Crops and Monsanto Terminator... Read More
In order to build a stronger, more self-sufficient America, America... Read More
Recently the FTC, Federal Trade Commission put forth a report... Read More
Question: Dr. Vaknin ? is it true that you are... Read More
WE MUST PUT A STOP TO THE EVER-INCREASING PRICE OF... Read More
I hear it all the time; you can't say that.... Read More
The European Court of Justice ("ECJ") ruled in Praktiker Bau-... Read More
We recently saw another ferry accident, this one in NY... Read More
I. The FactsJust days before a much-awaited donor conference, the... Read More
"Like humans void of soul or mind, they jeered and... Read More
We have heard a lot about the coming bird flu... Read More
Farmers will eventually be facing federal regulations involving air emissions... Read More
For the business community 9-11 changed everything. In our company,... Read More
Recently I got to talking with a gentleman at a... Read More
Often we see protests at the sites of global leader... Read More
Former Governor of Alaska, Jay Hammond, died at age 83,... Read More
Antigo wedding limo ..Publicity is correlative to your position in the community. Seldom... Read More
This is a thought on the study of Home and... Read More
In the event of that a threatening nation to the... Read More
Each day the present geo-political reality confirms what The Tribulation... Read More
One of Abraham Lincoln's claims to fame is the fact... Read More
The United States has never done a full study on... Read More
The Federal Trade Commission has very important Anti-trust Laws. They... Read More
Let's put it all into perspective: the U.S. has an... Read More
Handing over power to Vladimir Putin in 1999, Boris Yeltsin... Read More
The No Child Left Behind can work if the Federal... Read More
In the last two weeks, two non-senior US officials indirectly... Read More
Prison guards and corrections professionals are hard at work insuring... Read More
We have all heard of the huge debates surrounding genetically... Read More
It appears we are having a terrible situation with the... Read More
Rush is right! The government's stepped up bid to regulate... Read More
User BaseThe non-US and non-English Web segments have been boosted... Read More
"Rugged individualism" is actually a euphemism for Thomas Hobbes' baseless... Read More
Water Conservation in larger cities is less of an issue... Read More
A few hours ago, Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, the... Read More
Farmers will eventually be facing federal regulations involving air emissions... Read More
The prosecutors in the Martha Stewart Case used testimony from... Read More
I believe it would be good for the economy for... Read More
A Governmental commission, headed personally by the Prime Minister has... Read More
Is the only way to fight Fundamentalist Extremists becoming one... Read More
Our government is set up like a modern day franchise.... Read More
Political |