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Current Events

5/1/2015

0 Comments

 
What is the greatest threat to the United States?  This question has plagued politicians and American voters for centuries and has led to public debates and open forums in our nation.  While there are many threats in the world, I would venture to say that the greatest threat to the United States is not terrorism directly, but the reactions to terrorism.  The goal of international terrorism is to strike fear in a society that will bring about a desired change in that society. 

This isn't a new development in the world, but one that is as old as man itself.  Ancient armies would surround and lay siege to cities with the desire of taking and looting the city.  To achieve this goal the army laying siege might cut off supplies to the city in hopes the society within will allow the attackers in to avoid starvation.  Again, the goal of terrorism was to use fear (in this case starvation) to achieve a goal.  

So what is the goal of modern terrorism, specifically radical Islamic terrorism?  If we assume the age-old reasons for the use of terrorism we can conclude that radical Islamic terrorism wishes to use fear to bring about change; but what change?  Do they wish to see the democratic nations fall?  What does it mean for a democratic nation to fall; what does that even look like?

If we assume that the cornerstone of democratic nations are based on the freedom of the people to live freely under democratic governments charged with protecting those freedoms, then what does the fall of such a nation mean?  Does it mean less freedom for the people?  Does it mean the people in a democratic society have less of a say in the democratic process?  If this is true then I would say the greatest threat to the United States isn't what terrorists do to the nation, but what we allow to happen to the nation ourselves.

If we as a nation continue to allow the very freedoms we hold dear to be limited in the name of combating terrorism, have the terrorists achieved their goal of bringing about change in our society through fear?  If our nation continues to make decisions about foreign policy without the consent of the people, have the people been cut out of the democratic process allowing terrorist to achieve their goal of bringing about change in our society?

We as the American people should be asking these questions and more of ourselves and our government.  We the people have many questions, its time for some answers.
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    Mr. Taylor

    I am a history teacher who is fortunate enough to be able to teach a Current Events class each Fall.

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  • American History
    • American History I >
      • Unit 1 - Worlds Collide
      • Unit 2 - Adolescent Colonies
      • Unit 3 - Seeds of Rebellion
      • Unit 4 - Revolutionary America
      • Unit 5 - The New Nation
      • Unit 6 - Expansion and Reform
      • Unit 7 - Crisis, Civil War, and Reconstruction
      • Unit 8 - The Great West
    • American History II >
      • Unit 9 - The Gilded Age
      • Unit 10 - The Progressive Era
      • Unit 11 - The American Empire
      • Unit 12 - Prosperity and Depression
      • Unit 13 - World War II
      • Unit 14 - Cold War Tensions
      • Unit 15 - Conflicts and Resolutions
      • Unit 16 - Modern America
  • World History
    • Early History >
      • Unit I - Origins
      • Unit II - Ancient Greece
      • Unit III - Rise and Fall of Rome
      • Unit IV - The Age of Faith
      • Unit V - Late Medieval World
      • Unit VI - Renaissance and Discovery
    • Modern History >
      • Unit VII - Crisis of Faith
      • Unit VIII - Revolutionary World
      • Unit IX - Industrial Imperialism
      • Unit X - The Great War
      • Unit XI - World War II
      • Unit XII - Cold War & Globalization
    • *NEW* under construction >
      • Unit 1 - State Building in the Global Tapestry
      • Unit 2 - Networks of Exchange
      • Unit 3 - Land-Based Empires
      • Unit 4 - Transoceanic Interconnections
      • Unit 5 - Revolutions
      • Unit 6 - Consequences of Industrialization
      • Unit 7 - Global Conflicts
      • Unit 8 - Cold War and Decolonization
      • Unit 9 - Globalization
  • AP European History
    • Early Modern History >
      • Unit I - The Rise of Europe
      • Unit II - Rebirth and Exploration
      • Unit III - A Fractured Faith
      • Unit IV - A Question of Sovereignty
      • Unit V - A Shifting Society
      • Unit VI - Revolution
    • Late Modern History >
      • Unit VII - Political Turmoil
      • Unit VIII - Rise of the Nation-State
      • Unit IX - Forging the Modern Era
      • Unit X - Imperialism and the Great War
      • Unit XI - Global Conflicts
      • Unit XII - The Long Peace
  • Civic Literacy