A précis concerning Burleigh Wilkins, “Can Terrorism Be Justified”
I.
On September 11, 2001, I along with the rest of the nation, witnessed
historical terror and devastation as the Twin Towers, a long-standing symbol
of American prosperity, crumbled to the ground after two hijacked airplanes
flew through them early that morning. Almost simultaneously in Washington
D.C., a third airliner flew into the Pentagon, and shortly after, a fourth
hijacked plane crashed in Somerset Country, PA. Few survivors emerged from
the rubble; in the end, thousands were dead, and, without explanation or
apology, millions of lives had been changed forever – all in a matter of
minutes - a painful contrast to the far reaching affects that this sudden,
single act had perpetuated. Over a month later we are only beginning to
recover, further affirming the notion that will someday read like a line in
a history book, that this was, is, and always will be one of the most
horrible terrorist atrocities to ever plague our country. Terrorism has
long been a global issue; for centuries it has gone on around the world.
People with imperialist hopes for world domination often use acts of
terrorism to scare smaller countries into support and subordination of the
greater entity. Also, terrorism is often used to personify the hatred of
one country for another. Burleigh Wilkins, who authored the piece, "Can
Terrorism Be Justified?," raises the issue of whether acts of terrorism are
ever morally justifiable, and utilizes situations where "a large number of
people share guilt for a tragic situation," in what is known as collective
guilt. According to Wilkins, terrorism is any act of violence against a
group a people, whether they are the attackers or the victims of the attack.
The answer to the title of the piece lies not in the definition of
terrorism, but in the delineation of whether or not a terrorist act is
justifiable. Wilkins uses this maxim: It is generally agreed that it is
justifiable to do violence to another person in self-defense; some wars can
be accommodated under the category of self-defense where this is construed
in terms of a community of persons defending themselves against aggressors."
Wilkins says that if we condemn unjust wars or unjust acts in wartime,
then we also condemn terrorism where violence (or the imminent threat of
Soon after, Flight 175 attacked the South Tower. By the end of the day, both towers had collapsed and other hijacked flights had caused damage. The amount of lives lost on September 11 was substantial; 2,749 people from eighty-three different countries died from the attacks (Facts about the attacks., n.d.). All in all, America has changed forever. Research Many conspiracy theories have been developed concerning what happened to the World Trade Centers on September 11, 2001, but there are a select few that, similar to the truth, cannot be disproved without quite a bit of effort.
Terrorist is a novel by John Updike written in 2006. Ahmad Ashmawy Mulloy, the main character in the story, was instructed in the Muslim faith ever since he was a child of eleven by the Iman Shaikh Rashid, originally from Yemen. The words and teachings of the Qur’an and his devotion to Allah become the centre of Ahmad’s young life which incidentally, lacks all parental guidance. After he graduates from secondary school he gets a job as a truck driver for Excellency Furnishing Stores where he meets Charlie Chehab and his father, from Lebanon and devoted Muslims too. From then on, the young man is manipulated by his elders to perpetrate a terrorist attack against the Lincoln tunnel, below the Hudson River that unites New Jersey with Manhattan, New York. The attack never comes true because Ahmad’s respect and love of a God given life prevail above the Iman’s mandate of hatred towards Americans and their way of life which he had also tried to generate in the boy.
In today’s society the word “terrorism” has gone global. We see this term on television, in magazines and even from other people speaking of it. In their essay “Controlling Irrational Fears After 9/11”, published in 2002, Clark R. Chapman and Alan W. Harris argue that the reaction of the American officials, people and the media after the attacks of 9/11 was completely irrational due to the simple fact of fear. Chapman and Harris jump right into dismembering the irrational argument, often experienced with relationships and our personal analysis. They express how this argument came about from the terrorist being able to succeed in “achieving one major goal, which was spreading fear” among the American people (Chapman & Harris, para.1). The supporters of the irrational reaction argument state that because “Americans unwittingly cooperated with the terrorist in achieving the major goal”, the result was a widespread of disrupted lives of the Americans and if this reaction had been more rational then there would have been “less disruption in the lives of our citizens” (Chapman & Harris, para. 1).
One similarity Dally and Johnny share is their inability to place value in their own lives. Through the duration of the story, Dally continually does things that put his life in danger, and does not seem to care about the consequences. He drives recklessly, breaks every law he can, and pulls a gun on the police, thus getting himself killed. As Ponyboy states, “I knew he would be dead, because Dally Winston wanted to be dead, and he always got what he wanted” (154). After the death of Johnny, Dally
My first secondary source is the book, “Blood and Rage: A Cultural History of Terrorism” written by Michael Burleigh. In his book, he investigates the nature of terrorism, with its origins in the West to the current global acts of terrorism. Burleigh examines the roots of terrorism in the last 150 years such as the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Russian Nihilists, Red Brigades, Black International, Tamil Tigers and Al Qaeda. He also explores the political impact of those who cause violence and those who are affected by it. He shows that the groups are not only religiously motivated but are also motivated by ideological and separatist motives. He further shows how contrary to popular belief, terrorist are big fans of technology and much of their agitation is driven by the acts of Western Governments themselves. He towards the end of his book shows the positive side of his book and gives recommendations on how terrorism can be defeated.
Furthermore, the position of the legs has one on the lion and the other leg that rests on the pedestal. This can mean one leg being forced to stay in this type of conformity while the other wants to walk towards something that enables it some type of freedom. In fact, “…, the raised right and pendant lower leg are often found in representations of the Bodhisattva Alalokiteshvara, who takes the well-known Water Moon form, in China the most popular manifestation of this bo...
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The United States, like any large nation, experiences its fair share of domestic terrorism. Domestic terrorism comes in two forms, within the United States, secular terrorism and religious terrorism. The broader category of terrorism, of which secular and religious terrorism fall under, is defined as a violent act committed against defenseless civilians in order to incite change. The distinctive difference between secular and religious terrorism is the motivation to commit the act. Secular terrorist are motivated by ideology, that is separate from religion, and Religious terrorist are motivated by an interpretation of their religion. Because of these terrorist acts the United States is forced to take action, in order to prevent terrorist acts,
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