Terrorism in our own Backyard
America is said to be the strongest nation in the world with a passion to provide a culture full of opportunities, freedoms and a land free of terrorism! Recently, we’ve all watched in horror as our country’s dignity was compromised. The 9-11 acts of terror will always be remembered not only for the number of lives that were lost and for the damage done, but because our safe haven was invaded and that is unimaginable for most Americans. Now more than ever, security measures and extreme precautions are being taken to avoid further attacks on America, but are we over-looking the terrorism that is happening everyday among American to American?
Terrorism is defined as the “unlawful use or threatened use of force; violence by a person or organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating.” We often think of the word terrorism as an act of violence against America by another country, but as you can see terrorism can be done by anyone at any time, anywhere.
Terrorism can be traced throughout history. An innocent man, beaten and then hung on a cross was an act of terrorism. Millions of Africans, kidnapped from their homes and brought to America could be considered an act of terrorism. The use of foul language intended to intimidate and the use of bodily harm on another because of their race or religion is an act of terrorism. Terrorism happens in our homes between family members, in our schools among our children, in the workplace among the workers and on
our streets. These examples show that the harmful act of terrorism is human and not just a cultural influence. What kind of a world can we expect to live in if we model this behavior and teach our children these ways? Where there are people, acts of terrorism can be found as an extreme method for making a statement, but there are other ways of accomplishing this task. Humanity has had its ups and downs, but we have overcome those downs by pulling together and standing up for what is good and true and passing that on to the next generation. We must take this responsibility seriously if we desire to go in a positive direction as a country.
America’s leaders are trying to figure out the true motive behind these senseless acts of local terrorism. They are doing extensive research to try and determine if this behavior is caused by a traumatizing past, such as divorce that caused the child to be torn between two bickering parents, or an abusive father or mother.
Within the world today, there are many organizations with varying opinions about specific ideals. But some of the organizations will take things to the extreme, and will do almost anything to prove that their view is the right one. This extreme act to further an objective is known as terrorism, but what exactly is a formal definition of terrorism? Frank Schmalleger defines it as “[a] violent act or an act dangerous to human life, in violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any state, that is committed to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives” (Criminal Justice Today, 2013 p.560). The American way of life and other aspects such as policy and the criminal justice system have been impacted by terrorism in many ways over the course of the twenty first century.
What is terrorism? What is it used for, and why does it occur? As Meierrieks and Krieger state in their article, “Since the attacks on the US on September 11, 2001,
Terrorism is focused on a one-sided belief that dictates massive destruction of institutions, foundations and national symbols. It represents a philosophy, which does not comply with common sense. Terrorism acts are a matter of individual psychology, relentless ideology, religious commitment, or political passion. The most devastating terrorism attack in the United States was on September 11, 2001. Other U S attacks were the Manhattan attack in 1997, the Anthrax attack in 2001, a prior World Trade Center attack in 1993, the Wall Street Bombing attack in 1920, and the Kalama City bombing in 1995 (Askshintala, 2013). Terrorism attacks have also taken place in Israel, Greece, Chechnya a border between Russia and European countries and India (Askshintala, 2013). All of these attacks and other attacks that were not as devastating have become much of an international legal debate on terrorism. Terrorism should be criminalized under international law.
In my option Terrorism can be defined as Using violence to help gain or encourage something or a group. An example of terrorism would be ISIS. ISIS does not like any other region then Muslim. They will kill anyone who they think does not like their region or they think they don’t like the region.
The FBI’s definition of terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment there-of in furtherance of political or social objectives.
Terrorism is a threat that plagues our world every day. People are constantly warning travelers to beware of the threats of other nations, but terrorism and violence do not exclusively happen in only a few countries. Unfortunately, violence can be found all around the world. In “Thinking Rationally About Terror,” Lawrence Krauss reports his own experience of dealing with the reality of terrorism in the San Bernardino shooting. I have had a similar experience to Krauss’s when I took an educational trip to France this summer. We were both shaken at the realization that there are people in the world who aim to hurt others, but at the same time we cannot let the radicals achieve their goal of scaring the world.
In Module one, I learned that terrorism is a result of physical harm or deadly acts of force with the intent of a political outcome by the use of terror for coercion. There are various types of terrorism such as international terrorism and domestic terrorism. International terrorism occurs outside of the United States with a purpose to influence the policy of a government by intimidation. International and Domestic terrorism both involve violent acts dangerous to human life that violate federal and state laws. Domestic terrorism occurs within the United States with the intention of coercion or intimidation by way of mass destruction, etc. Some forms of terrorism include Improvised explosive devices (IED), kidnappings, suicide bombings and
The U.S. Department of State defines terrorism as, “The calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological”. Whereas the Belgium Red Cross says that terrorism is committed “for the purpose of intimidating the population, forcing a third party to act or destablishing or destroying the fundamental structures of a country or of an international organization”.
Terrorism, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is the use of violent acts to frighten the people in an area as a way of trying to achieve a political goal. The true definition is much more than that, though. The FBI splits terrorism into two subcategories: international terrorism and domestic terrorism. “International terrorism means
There is no set definition for terrorism, this is because each country have a different definition of terrorism, but it is commonly recognized as violence from groups with political, religious or ideological ideas. Terrorism tries to bring about change with violence and their targets are usually unsuspecting civilians. However, freedom fighters understand terrorism to be violence against the government and government policy to bring about political, and social change to better their way of life. There are two major category of terrorism, International and Domestic terrorism (Yancey, 2006).
In addition, Joseph Margolin {1977} argues that "much terrorist behavior is a response to the frustration of various political economic or personal needs or objectives.
Terrorism has and is changing the world. The U.S. government describes terrorism as “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents” (Gupta12). The implications of terrorism go beyond the casualties. Terrorism has evolved drastically; the ramifications of these unjustifiable acts of terror have and are having a great impact in our everyday lives. A single act of terror can strike fear and gloom into an entire country.
Before even discussing anything about terrorism you have to have a broad understand of what it is. The definition of terrorism is very complex, mostly because there is no real definition. According to Dr. Groskin, terrorism is “the use or threat of using violence and force to achieve political objectives using methods which represent violations of criminal laws.” He also states that it is the “motives that lie behind the acts which serve to distinguish terrorism from aberrant, seemingly irrational, mindless, senseless violence.” When looking at a “terrorist” act the use of fear, demands for change, selection of victims, and how likely it is to attract attention all have to be closely examined to determine if it is truly what it seems.
There is no set definition for terrorism, this is because each country has a different definition of terrorism, but it is commonly recognized as violence from groups with political, religious or ideological ideas. Terrorism tries to bring about change with violence and their targets are usually unsuspecting civilians. However, freedom fighters understand terrorism to be violence against the government and government policy to bring about political, and social change to better their way of life. There are two major categories of terrorism, International and Domestic terrorism (Yancey, 2006).