Madrasahs in the Mist

October 16, 2008
by Doug Soderstrom, Ph.D.

Terrorism may be defined as the systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population of others usually described as that of "the enemy" all in order to achieve a particular political, ideological, or religious objective. As a result of the September 11, 2001 attack upon the United States, we, as Americans, have been inundated with warnings from the Bush administration that terrorists (Muslim extremists) are intent upon destroying us, that they are on the verge of planting a nuclear bomb in the middle of one of our cities.

Now as to the truth of such an assertion, I just don't know. Perhaps what "they" say is true, and then again perhaps such is not true. I just don't know, but what I do know is that there is more than one side to this story.

As a behavioral scientist, there is a more candid (or shall I say objective) way of looking at the problem of terrorism. Americans seem to have focused upon terrorism as if they (they themselves) are the only ones in danger of being attacked. Hate is hate, and the desire to harm others is all inclusive, a force that permeates the nooks and crannies of any and all who allow the common bond of our humanity to be shattered by the happenstance of one's birth, an arrangement in which the power to think for one's self is far too often "checked in" at the "hat-stand" of citizenship, an exchange which permits an independent mind to be fueled by the passing fancies of those who happen to be in charge.

And in that of our own country, the United States of America, such notions are no doubt generated by the government, a nefarious association of thugs, with but one thing in mind; polluting (propagandizing) the minds of once decent citizens so they will unthinkingly march to the tune of the military-industrial complex, a haunting refrain (The Star-Spangled Banner) demanding that we comply with a duty to serve the homeland, an irrevocable command to carry out the responsibilities of a citizen-soldier, the most ominous of which is to shoot and kill the enemy.

Now that we might perhaps be ready to examine the problem of terrorism in a more objective manner, let's take a look at your son, your daughter, your mother, your father, your brother, your sister, your best friend, anyone of us who might one day have an opportunity (or perhaps even be required) to serve our country...as a terrorist.

But I can hear "the gears of your mind" saying, "You've got it all wrong. We, the Americans, we're the good guys. We're not terrorists. Terrorists are ?bad guys,' crazies who strap bombs onto their bodies, walking into public places for no reason other than wanting to kill innocent human beings. You know what I mean, like kids in the Middle East who have been sent to Madrasahs (Muslim schools) where young people are taught to view the Koran as a sacred document that encourages them to hate, perhaps even wanting to kill, Americans, a bunch of worthless, war-mongering, materialistic/capitalistic-inspired infidels who, because they do not believe in Allah, would be better off dead than alive."

But then again don't we do more or less the same thing in our own schools? Regardless of a traditional separation between church and state, the fact is that young people attending public or private schools in the United States learn that it is good to believe in God (read: our God...... not theirs!).

If you do not believe such to be the case, just think about how well (really, how poorly) kids in school get along once they have declared themselves to be an atheist. Or, even worse, how poorly others are received once provincials discover that they are Muslim (that they worship Allah...... the God of the terrorists!). Although, in a very subtle manner, the message "comes through" that our country (the United States of America) has been blessed by God!

Assuming such a blessing, "our" way of doing things is automatically accepted as "the right way" of doing things. And because our way of doing things "is right" any country that happens to disagree with us, one that organizes life in a different way (China as a communist country, Denmark as a socialist nation, and the Iranians who believe in Allah) is therefore wrong.

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Consequently, we, as Americans, have come to believe that we therefore "have the right" to insist that they (our foes) turn things around, that they do things our way before it is too late...... before such behavior (the nationalization of the oil and gas industry by Iran in 1951, Nicaragua's decision to be a socialist republic during that of the 1980's, Venezuela's rather recent nationalization of the oil and gas industry along with an emerging military alliance with Russia, etc.) begins to infringe upon our collective right to hog the resources of the world (a rather irrational belief that we as a mere four percent of the world's population have a God-given right to consume thirty percent of the world's wealth), and all of such in order to protect what we believe to be a God-given right to live the way we live (the right to have a big house, two or three cars, the right to take at least one vacation a year, etc.).

And finally, and perhaps most importantly, if the enemy's behavior has, what we feel to be, a reasonably negative impact upon our way of life, Americans have been taught (in many, many rather subtle ways) that we have the right "to take them out"...... to do whatever must be done in order to show them (as well as the rest of the world) that we are "in charge," that we are strong, and that nobody "better screw" with us (read: the war in Viet Nam, the wars in Iraq, our invasion of the Caribbean Island of Grenada, the economic embargo on Cuba, etc,) or we will have no choice but "to put them out of business!"

But if you do not believe me, if you do not believe that we have been taught to think in such a way, just take a look at what has happened in our public schools (as well as in some of our colleges) when teachers, along with their students, question the morality of our wars........ well, they get fired! Even though I am now a retired professor (as of May 16, 2008), the last few years of teaching were no picnic for me, and as an anti-war protestor, I am quite sure that the administration of the college where I once taught is no doubt very glad that I am gone, that I am no longer there to raise Hell!

But as a side remark, let me just say....... isn't that what teachers are supposed to do........ raise Hell, encourage young people to question things, encourage them to critically examine, to critically reflect upon, the world in which they live. Perhaps not, perhaps indoctrination is the "word of the day," what many of the folks in our country want........ that of teaching kids how to "fit in," teaching them the value of patriotism, the cornerstone of "good citizenship," what they need to know in order to become a general in the army, a CEO in the next "great American corporation!"

Our children are not only taught such things in school, but as well in church, especially in that of the fundamentalist (right wing) churches of America...... "Now go and smite and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. (1 Samuel 15:1-3....... sounds a bit like what has occurred in Iraq, doesn't it?)."

And, of course, mom's and dads do quite a job on their kids by making it clear that if, and when, the time comes for them to go to war, such will offer their children a wonderful opportunity to prove that they are a man, that they are a true man of God, one who is more than willing to serve his/her nation, his/her God (Read: civil religion, a chauvinistically-based, therefore extremely biased, interpretation of the teachings of Jesus....... a la Jerry Falwell, Tim LaHaye, and Pat Robertson) by taking upon the responsibility to bear arms and to kill the enemy.

And if it turns out that their conscience is a problem, that they might have a few qualms about taking the life of another human being, believe me, the armed forces will gladly come to the rescue by teaching each, and every, soldier how to disregard (read: repress) the call of their conscience, teaching them mental skills (read: defense mechanisms) that will enable them to effectively ignore the fact that there might perhaps be something wrong with killing another human being, all of such preparing the way for "A Few Good Men" to march out onto the battlefield in order to do what they have been trained to do (kill the enemy), and to do so with military pride........ Marine Corps honor.

In conclusion then, at least the way I see it, a terrorist is a terrorist is a terrorist regardless of one's nationality, cultural orientation, or religious persuasion. One can drop a bomb from "on high," fire a missile from a ship, throw a grenade into a building, or simply strap a bomb onto one's body before walking into a crowd. But it's all the same, exactly the same, thing no matter how we choose to frame it.

Killing is killing, and to pretend that we are somehow different, that we are, for whatever reason, more civilized, more humane, that we have been blessed by God, that our way of killing is more acceptable than that of the enemy's way of putting people to death, all of such is fantasy, pure fantasy (pure propaganda), an absolute unwillingness, on the part of our citizenry, to engage in rational thought; bizarre movements of a collective mind designed to pretend that all is well (when in fact it is not), a premeditated attempt to avoid responsibility for the fact that we, like them (our enemies), have chosen to kill human beings, that we, like them (our enemies), have chosen to live our lives by the lowest common denominator, the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, kill or be killed, winner-take-all approach to life, an ideology reserved for the living dead, those who have, for all practical purposes, lost touch with themselves, their God, and their fellow man........ lost souls wandering in a wonderland of death and denial.

Consequently, I feel that I must ask if the people of this country are na�ve enough to continue believing that the United States is the greatest country on the face of the Earth, that God still loves us, that the Father in Heaven will continue to bless (if he ever did in the first place) an economic system so terribly saturated with greed, if God will continue to root for a nation so intent upon conquering the world........... I just thought I would ask!