TERRORIST VALUES

Some events are so horrific that they arouse overwhelming feelings of outrage and anger in us. Often that outrage and anger is directed towards heroic actions, as we saw in many of our citizens in the hours and days following the events of September 11, 2001. When this happens, we defeat terrorism.

But sometimes we let the terrorists win. We let their values defeat our values, and though we may succeed in stopping the killing, we haven't actually stopped terrorism. It remains an evil specter in our society, able to materialize the moment we turn our heads.

How does this happen? How do terrorists win?

When something harmful is done to us, there is a natural tendency to want to get revenge on those who perpetrate such evil acts. Such moral outrage is good, because without that outrage, we become unfeeling and inhumane. When these powerful emotions are channeled into resolute action to bring justice to the perpetrators of evil, society benefits. We all benefit because we recognize that there is a right and wrong in the universe, and we are willing to take action to make those distinctions public to all.

It is this openness to discuss, judge, and accept differences that I regard as one of our core values. It is what distinguishes us from those who would use terror against us.

There are times, however, when our desire for revenge or our need for justice overpowers our core values. We then run the risk of losing something as precious as life itself. We run the risk of becoming that which we despise.

When emotions are high, when our cause seems perfectly just, when the evil that is perpetrated on us seems so horrific, we run the risk of handing victory over to the enemies of freedom. We do this by discarding our values and succumbing to their values.

And just what are these terrorist values?

I have identified three values that terrorists must possess. They are values that are the antithesis of our values, because they are values that deny freedom to others.

What are these terrorist values?

The first terrorist value is "Might over right."

The second terrorist value is "Action without thought."

And the third terrorist value is "Prejudice over understanding."

Might over right

The first terrorist value is "Might over right." This value comes directly from the position that any terrorist finds himself in. He has a cause, but he lacks the power to impose his values on anyone else. His very lack of power induces him to find means that are unconventional.

On the other hand, those groups that have power are more likely to find means that are less dependent on terro. Vast iniquities in power create terror. Balances in power reduce terror.

The only way a terrorist has to get his particular view of "right" heard is to increase the threat of his might. Therefore, until there is dialogue, there will always be an esculation of terror.

Action without thought

The second value held by most terrorists is "Action without thought." Terror depends on two elements: The first element is surprise. No terrorist would ever be effective if he announced his intended action ahead of time. The second element is thoughtless response.

What made the events of September 11 seem so terrible is that they were totally unexpected (even though they were not unanticipated). What the terrorists wanted the United States to do was to make thoughtless responses, such as immediate retaliatory action; such as rounding up all suspects, even if they had nothing to do with the event; such as curtailing our liberties because we were afraid it was those liberties that allowed the terrorists to operate.

Action without thought is a terrorist value that can do serious harm to free people everywhere.

Prejudice over understanding

The third value of the terrorists is "Prejudice over understanding." It is the nature of terrorism that all issues have to be black and white. It is only such an extreme view that enables ordinary people (and let us not forget that terrorists are not extraordinary people, but are just like most of us) to take such desperate actions.

If terrorists took the time to understand the full complexity of the situation, they would rarely be able to take such decisive action. It is only by getting all issues into distinct classes of "black and white," "good vs evil," "us against them," that extreme action can be taken.

It is this value that the terrorists want us to adopt. As soon as we do, we play on their turf, by their rules. And even if we kill them, they still win. Because they would have converted our values into their values.

When I look at the strategy and techniques we have adopted in the War on Terror, I fear that we may already be losing it. We are not truly fighting terror; we are getting revenge. And in the process of getting revenge, we are adopting some of the values of the terrorists.

When we do that, unfortunately, we are letting the terrorists win.

Copyright �2002 by George Hickerson. All rights reserved.