September 11 left us rudderless, unsure what to do to prevent another terrorist incident from occurring. We have seen tightened security measures and military action, but one thing we have not heard about recently is the direct and important link between terrorism and education.
In the past months, government officials have pleaded with news networks to limit the broadcast of any messages from Osama bin Laden or the al-Qaeda terrorist network. They worry these messages may carry hidden messages to secret terrorist cells in the West, ordering them to conduct further terrorist campaigns against civilians.
While such worry is justified, there is also a broader issue of education and the role public knowledge plays when it comes to dealing with and preventing terrorism from succeeding at home and abroad. The continued advancement of knowledge has been the foundation of Western advancement for decades if not centuries. Terrorism preys on this and creates an educational vacuum that endangers the prospects of a long-term victory in the war against terror.
Knowledge provides comfort in the face of terror and emotionalism. It provides the strength to continue—a clear path to pursue even while the world may be becoming increasingly unstable by the minute. As all government officials re-evaluate what information should be released to the general public, concerning everything from technical specifications to the amount of antibiotics stockpiled, we should all remember that denying knowledge to the people will only increase their fears. The more that people know about the situation, the more they are reassured that things will correct themselves in the end.
You don’t have to look far to see those in the news media criticizing their own colleagues for spreading information which they say may cause further public concern and panic. Take, for instance, an article in the National Post discussing the viability of Cipro in treating potential anthrax cases. While those critics are condemning their own colleagues for spreading fear, they fail to see the important role this information and critical analysis provides. It allows us to think rationally about problems.
Ever since September 11, many people have been functioning on emotionalism rather than logical rationality. This is extremely dangerous, particularly in a complex anti-terror campaign. In such campaigns, there are not only two clearly defined warring factions but a large and complex gray area as well. Civilians are part of that gray area and must be trained to re-exert their logical rationality over emotionalism in order to assist the campaign against terror. This is how the anti-terror campaign will be won.
Not through bombs, special forces, humanitarian food drops or other “conventional” means of warfare but through the education of individuals around the globe.
This education of individuals also includes those in Afghanistan and supporters of radical Islamic extremists such as Osama bin Laden.
They must be taught that Islam and secular Western culture can and must work together.
That does not mean forcing secular ideals onto Islam but it does mean seeing that isolation and backwardness are not the way to preserve religious values or culture.
Western society must also demonstrate that we are willing to listen and attempt to understand the values of Islam; just as Islam is hopefully willing to listen and attempt to understand the values of Western culture.
Does this mean I’m a pacifist? No, I understand that there are those out there in society that will do anything to inflict pain and bloodshed on society. No matter what we do there will always be such individuals in the world.
My point is that we must educate those who believe in humans and human civilization and show that there are alternatives to terror and fear of terror; that in the end our societies will survive and so will humanity.
