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Fessler is an assistant professor in the anthropology department.

By Daniel Fessler

Via the unblinking eye of television, we have all witnessed the most horrific act of terrorism ever committed. And even as we shed tears for the families torn asunder, we ask ourselves these questions: Will it happen again? Could it happen here?

Public officials from the highest to the lowest have sought to reassure us, clenching their jaws and declaring war. But the reality is that a free country which values civil liberties can never be fully protected against the aggression of disaffected individuals, particularly if they are willing to give their lives to inflict pain and suffering on others.

Just as the “war on drugs” has not ended the crime and decay that drug smuggling has brought to our shores, so too is it likely that spending billions of dollars to “neutralize” terrorists will eliminate some actors in the drama, but it will not solve the problem.

What, then, are we to do?

We must guard against the inclination to create or hold demonizing stereotypes

I offer the following ideas not as definitive recommendations from an expert (I am not), but rather as humble suggestions from a simple observer.

Our society’s greatest virtue is it’s respect for individuality. At the national level, this takes the form of fundamental rights and liberties, including the right to hold and express diverse opinions both in public and behind closed doors, away from the prying eyes and suspicious ears of others.

We should think long and hard before we compromise those liberties in the name of greater security. In an era where an omniscient state is a technical possibility rather than simply a nightmarish fantasy, opening the Pandora’s box of extensive domestic surveillance may entail costs that we can only dimly imagine at the present time.

Respect for individuality is a hollow principle if it is enshrined in law, yet not enacted in person. At the personal level, we must guard against the inclination to create or hold demonizing stereotypes.

Anger, perhaps even hatred, against those who kill innocents is justified. Directing such feelings at individuals, however, who merely share the same ethnicity, language or religious tradition as the perpetrators is stupid, hypocritical and unpatriotic.

It is stupid because it is misdirected – neither ethnicity, language nor religious affiliation is a determinant of the particular ideologies that motivate terrorists, so the anger misses the mark.

It is hypocritical because the cry that innocents have been unjustly made to suffer has little meaning if the crier then proceeds to inflict suffering on other innocents.

And it is unpatriotic because intolerance and prejudice are antithetical to the principles of freedom on which our nation is founded. Hence, those who act in this fashion undermine our society.

Moreover, it is not enough for oneself to merely refrain from acting in this fashion. By contributing to the decay of our society’s respect for individual differences, turning a blind eye to intolerance undermines our nation as surely as any terrorist’s knife or bomb.

The intolerant, like other members of our society, are free to hold and express their opinions, but it is the responsibility of those of us who adhere to our nation’s basic principles to make it clear to all present that we do not approve, and we will not allow the intolerant to harm the innocent.

Even though some may believe that these domestic measures may preserve civility and freedom in our land, they still will not reduce the threat of terrorism. If a “war on terrorism” is likely to be only partially successful at best, what else is to be done?

To begin with, we must ask what makes people hate us so much.

Our leaders have declared that we are targeted because we are the beacon of liberty and freedom in the world. I know of no evidence supporting this assertion. There are many groups of fanatics who wish to harm our society, and their motives are diverse. To the best of my understanding, however, their hatred begins with experiences near at hand.

The seeds of terrorism grow well in the fertile soil of poverty, oppression and social inequality. Access to food, education and a reasonable measure of health and security are things that we take for granted, yet they are luxuries for much of this planet’s population.

Our nation has committed two actions which, while possibly constituting sins, certainly constitute strategic errors.

The first is isolationism.

Husbanding our wealth at home, we have repeatedly refused to generously apply our resources, knowledge or power to improve the existence of that majority of the world’s population that lives in developing nations. This is a recipe for discontent. Even if people know little else about our nation, they know that we are rich and that we could help them if we chose to do so.

We must remember that whenever we ignore wars, famines or the more mundane disasters of poverty on the pretext that “it’s not our problem,” there will be countless eyes watching us lead our lives of isolated splendor while the world around them struggles.

Our second error is self-interested interventionism.

Consider the recent history of U.S. involvement in the Middle East: in order to ensure access to oil, we propped up an oppressive and undemocratic regime in Iran. Revolutionaries overthrew that regime and held American citizens hostage. In order to again ensure access to oil and avenge ourselves, we then propped up an oppressive and undemocratic regime in a nation at war with Iran, namely Iraq. Iraq then invaded Kuwait and threatened Saudi Arabia. In order to ensure access to oil, we responded with force, thereby propping up oppressive and undemocratic regimes in these nations.

Whenever we ally ourselves with oppressors we become a target of the hatred of the oppressed, and whenever we do so out of obvious self-interest, we earn their scorn as well.

Fostering both economic development and political reform thus constitutes one of those wonderful rare circumstances, an opportunity to help others while also helping ourselves.

Why, then, have we not acted to the fullest in this regard? The answer is simple – it costs billions of dollars.

Remember this the next time you hear our leaders describe the costs of the coming war on terrorism. We may kill or capture some terrorists but until we also declare war on poverty and injustice, there will be plenty more terrorists where they came from.

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