Definitions for
terrorism vary with the changing perspectives of history and politics. For the sake of argument, let’s define
terrorism as the use of force and violence to intimate, frighten or harass
innocent people, often for reasons connected to an aim. Tragically, terrorism
exists in one form or another in many, if not all, countries.
Motivation may be
religious, political, a mix of the two, or neither. Hate crimes are a kind of
terrorism. Terrorists kill or assault people, inspiring fear in many more potential
victims. On occasion, a terrorist may even be an individual filled with rage
for his own personal reasons.
In the act of
terrorizing, the terrorist feels powerful. Although he often dies, he’s
experienced moments of glory. Furthermore, he believes he’s achieved
immortality. At the very least, he’s beyond the predicament of human suffering.
We can’t expect the
terrorist to own the thoughts that drive him. By definition, he’s abandoned the
course of reflection in favor of
violent action. But we can understand the dynamics undergirding his need
to destroy.
“The road to
creativity passes so close to the madhouse and often detours or ends there... Man
cannot endure his own littleness unless he can translate it into meaningfulness
on the largest possible level,” Ernest Becker wrote in his Pulitzer-prize
winning book in 1974, The
Denial of Death.
Becker’s wise words
sum up our human dilemma. Each of us is going to die. The inevitability of
death drives us to choose a path to create and/or destroy. We can acknowledge
that it is immortality that each of us seeks and that (often unconsciously)
motivates the terrorist.
Although the terrorist
operates in the world to destroy, we can grapple and grope at home to find ways
to connect others to the positive power of caring. We can probe our psyches to
find ways to help the potential terrorist to develop an inner life and travel
the positive road to creativity.
Ah, for evolution to
come soon and help us connect the disparate dots that connect us to our humanity.
I read every Dr. Simon Says. This is one of your finest--thought-provoking and powerful! I'll pass it on to others.
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Nice blog.
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