|
When I think
about the risk of terrorism, I think about the probability of another
occurrence, I think about casualties, I think about preparedness and I
think about recovery. To a certain extent, I also think about response,
as I am a member of one of Arlington County’s Community Emergency
Response Team (CERT). What is interesting
to me is that while terrorism has existed since at least the Punic
Wars: “the Zealots took lessons from the Romans and the
Punic Wars utilized chemical warfare by poisoning wells, granaries, and
the water supply of Jerusalem.” I also think that the further we get from the
last one, the closer we get to the next one. It is only within the
context of 9-11 that I have come to have a sense of terrorism—a
definition and a acknowledgement of its existence. Because, while I pay
attention to world events, I never defined what was happening in
Ireland, the West Bank, Columbia or Indonesia as being terrorism. I saw
those acts of violence as violent disagreements over issues of identity
and power between at least two groups. In graduate school I studied
Conflict Analysis and Resolution. We studied theories of human needs
which stated that “conflict develops around non-negotiable
issues of basic human needs deprivation.” We never studied terrorism as a conflict where
human needs where not being met, even though we did study world
religions and conflict. Terrorism never came up, at least I am not
aware that it did. So, back to my
perception of the terrorism risk. I think that as the world becomes
more integrated due to globalization, the more we begin to notice the narcissism of small differences. “Uniting against others
in the same company is normal human behavior. Sigmund Freud called this
behavior the narcissism of small differences. “It is the natural
tendency for similar people, and especially similar groups of people,
to exaggerate otherwise superficially minor differences to sufficiently
high levels to create hostility. The more alike the groups, the more
they will seek ways to differentiate from each other. It is precisely
because the groups or people are so similar that they can see these
small differences, allowing them to view each other as significantly
different.”
My perception of risk terrorism has increased significantly. Terrorism
has become an everyday word with real consequences. The fact that
schools, local communities, individuals have become concerned about
terrorism and what do in case of another incident, is a harsh reality
to face. As my perception of terrorism
risk has increased, so has my attention on the steps being taken which
seem to reduce my rights to privacy. In addition, it is interesting to
see what new technologies are being introduced into everyday life that
on first blush seem to affect issues of privacy, such as biometric
technologies. I find it very interesting that citizens seem to not
consider the implications of such technologies, or they seem to just
accept without question, all in the name of protection against
terrorism. The risks are high. But maybe they have always been, and I
am just becoming conscious of it.
|
|