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November 2006                                                                            Volume 11 - Number 2

Perspectives...

Perceptions of the Terrorism Risk
By Jonathan Julio

Terrorism has been around for many centuries, but some would say it has been around since the beginning of civilization.  Today, no country is immune to terrorism.  Rich nations and poor nations alike are susceptible.  There are hundreds of terrorist groups out there and each one has its own specific cause.  The roots of these groups stem from environmental activism to racism to religion.  Home grown and domestic terrorism groups are just as dangerous as international terrorism groups.  In this age, one shouldn’t say that it can’t happen here, because in the minds of terrorists anything is possible.
Up until the September 11th attacks, I had never really thought about terrorism.  It was a foreign concept to me and was something I never worried about.  Although I perceive the occurrence of a terrorist attack to be lower than that of a natural disaster, its consequences are just as high.  Unlike a natural disaster, what makes people more afraid of a terrorist attack is its unpredictability.  The consequences of an attack not only results in physical damage but psychological and emotion distress may also follow.  Thus it is important to put the threat level of terrorism in perspective.  
The notion of perception is reality is true to some extent.  What happens or doesn’t happen affects how people think.  So does that mean if we are fearful of terrorism, that the terrorists win?  Terrorism exists to instill fear.  Some would say that terrorists are weak because they prey on the innocent.  The argument to that would be that they are a powerful force wielding influence on people, governments, and economies.  
Most people don’t seem to be overly concerned about the risk of terrorism.  They have become desensitized with all the media attention.  Since September 11th, terrorism activity has remained abroad.  Because of this people have become complacent.  When people become complacent, especially the government, that is when the terrorists will take the opportunity to strike.  When people least expect something to happen, that is when they would be most vulnerable to a terrorist attack.  As a result, more damage and casualties would occur than if they were prepared for an attack.
On the other hand, there a number of people who have been shook up by recent terrorist activity.  This has changed people’s perception of terrorism which in turn has changed their behavior.  With recent media coverage of terrorist attacks, more people are avoiding public transportation, such as commuter trains and airplanes, as well as international travel.  But this can be short-lived.  Over time, if there are no terrorist attacks, people will eventually feel safe and forget about the risk of an attack.
Terrorism will never go away but it can be reduced to some extent.  It is something that we will all have to learn to live with.  As long as there are human beings on the earth, terrorism will always be around.  It only takes one person to promote an ideology.  Just like cockroaches, they will never be eradicated.  In the end, it is the government and media that shape public opinion on how safe we are when it comes to terrorism.  These outlets will be well received if the public is able to trust them.