Today, we live in stable socio-cultural environments with lot less chaos as compared to even a century ago but society’s progress continues to be impeded by a major social issue—terrorism. Terrorism could be defined as violent actions by a group of people against unarmed citizens to achieve certain political or religious goals. I have never personally experienced or even witnessed acts of terrorism but I can only imagine the emotional pain it inflicts on victims and their loved ones. A struggle against terrorism is worthwhile because terrorism doesn’t only destroy the fabric of the society and leads to chaos but it also damages ethical and moral values of the society.
Terrorism may be inspired by one of more of several factors including nationalism, religious faith, low literacy rate, and poor economic conditions. One great example of how nationalism may contribute towards acts of terrorism is the Gulf War of the 1990s. After U.S. and its allied forced had successfully liberated Kuwait from Iraq, some elements in Islamic countries felt disturbed by the fact that America still had military presence on the Middle East. Extremist elements interpreted America’s military presence as a source of national embarrassment and became wary of what non-Muslim elements might be up to. It was not long before these extremist elements decided America was an enemy and had to be driven out by any means necessary even if it is through terrorist activities.
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"Terrorism is the Most Serious Issue in Society Today".
Religious extremism also paves the way for terrorism. Religion holds great psychological power over its followers and people under religious influence can be convinced to engage in almost any deed in the name of god. I still remember being shocked at the power of religion over people when I saw a documentary about terrorists training recruits to become “human bombs”. Terrorists exploit people’s religious faith to persuade them for such extreme acts as suicide bombings. Terrorist organizations do not even hesitate to make references to religious figures and preach that Mohammed and Allah want them to do what they are being asked. They do not even spare children and show them the dreams of heaven. Even though a sensible person should be able to realize there is no just cause for terrorism, nevertheless, religious emotions can inspire people to engage in terrorism.
Low literacy rate and poor economic environment are also fertile grounds for terrorism. It is easier to manipulate people who are not educated because they do not have the knowledge or sense of logic to make correct decisions. Similarly, when people are out-of-work or discontent with the government’s lack of ability to provide for the masses, they feel empty. This creates ideal conditions for terrorist organizations to give them purpose and hope that unlimited rewards wait for them in the life hereafter and it is an honorable thing to stand against corrupt government and foreign elements.
There are no appropriate words to condemn terrorism or describe the pain it causes. I still remember watching 9/11 coverage as a child which led to the loss of more than 3,000 precious lives with great future ahead. 9/11 also helped us realize that terrorism just doesn’t cause loss of lives but also disturbs the order of the society. Even though America faced the tragedy with a brave face, one cannot deny that America’s sense of security had been hurt and fear had taken hold of some of us, even if for brief moments of time. Another price we have paid for 9/11 is the erosion of civil liberties and terrorism has only given more excuses to the government to interfere in the lives of private citizens. Ironically, this is what terrorists wanted from the beginning and without realizing it, we have let ourselves taken in by fear. Terrorism doesn’t only causes chaos at home but also disturbs geopolitical stability in other areas of the world. The governments, not to be seen as week, adopt aggressive military attitude and in going after terrorists, make the world even more unsafe by alienating international community. This is because wars always lead to collateral damage and most of the victims of wars are usually innocent citizens. America’s military engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan has only led credibility to terrorist organizations and hurt America’s image in Middle East and the rest of the Muslim World.
Terrorism also imposes huge economic costs on the society. America’s debt crisis has gotten worse also due to Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and watching the news makes it seem like that the defense budget continues to grow each year even though economy is still struggling and millions of people are out of work. This also proves that the combined effect of terrorism is always difficult to calculate because it affects society on so many levels and the effects continue to linger for years. It has been over a decade since 9/11 but America’s war on terrorism sees no signs of ending anytime soon.
It can be concluded that terrorism is probably the most serious socio-cultural issue facing our society today but fortunately, there are solutions. First of all, the nations should join hands to fight against terrorism because of the scale of the challenge. We should also take steps to educate people and win their minds because terrorists prey on weak and frustrated minds. Terrorism has always existed and is not a new phenomenon but through innovative measures, we can make our world a far safer place to live.
