Merriam Webster defines terrorism as “the use of violent acts to frighten the people in an area as a way of trying to achieve a political goal.” The war on terror, declared after the tragic event of 9/11, has been on the minds of many Americans. The millennial generation only knows the war on terror as the event from an elementary school classroom. At six and seven years old it is tough to comprehend what was being done to our nation. Islamic Extremists had taken innocent lives in an attempt to shatter our nation.
The most recent events of terrorism were by the Islamic group ISIS, also known as ISIL, having killed more innocent people. Refugees in the Middle East are fleeing at an accelerated rate. These refugees are attempting to save their lives as ISIS continues to gain more ground. Some call it the persecution on Christianity, shifting the focus to one group, but ISIS is doing much more than that. The terrorist group are killing Jews, Muslims, Christians and anyone else who disagrees with their beliefs. No news channel has called the atrocity of these killings what it really is, genocide. Merriam Webster defines genocide as “the deliberate killing of people who belong to a particular racial, political or cultural group.” This is not genocide on any particular religion or cultural group; it is genocide on humanity itself. These refugees are also facing persecution in the nations that agreed to take them in for protection.
Taking in refugees has the major risk of allowing those who only want to harm others for political and strategic gains. ISIS killed over 120 people in the France attack, over 37 in the Beirut attack and over 20 in the attacks in Mali where over 170 people were taken hostage. These attacks show the world that no matter what you look like, ISIS will kill innocent victims to instill fear in more people. They do not care about race or ethnicity, just the fact that you follow them or die. We have politicians who believe allowing refugees into our nation will cause harm to America.
In an article from BBC (British Broadcasting Channel) the list of some presidential candidates who disagree with allowing refugees include:
Donald Trump: “I’m putting people on notice that are coming here from Syria as part of this mass migration, that if I win, they’re going back.”
Marco Rubio: “It’s not about closing down mosques,” Rubio told Fox News. “It’s about closing down any place – whether it’s a cafe, a diner, an Internet site – any place where radicals are being inspired.”
The list continues as some candidates attempt to generalize one group of people. We are allowing candidates to use people’s fear of those who practice Islam as scapegoats to further push their name ahead of the race. That is just wrong. You cannot allow a group of extremists to create an image for an entire religion or cultural group. Americans have a habit of doing this to those who are not from a European background. We talk about embracing diversity and allowing others to practice their religions in peace, but we practice the opposite.
ISIS is a problem, tist is true, but you cannot say that keeping refugees out will detour ISIS’s drive to want to attack our nation. Yes, I agree we need a system of allowing refugees into our nation with a way of checking backgrounds, family history, etc., because some people will attempt to use fake documentation to get into America to cause harm. We had 33 governors say they would not allow Syrian refugees into their state. What people fail to realize is there have been more deaths of Americans killing Americans than Americans dying from terrorist attacks. CNN counted the deaths of Americans by gun violence vs. terrorism. The poll showed that 406,496 died from gun violence whereas 3,380 died from terrorism. It counted all acts of gun violence and terror attacks since 9/11. If you want to generalize anyone, Americans should look at themselves because we kill one another a lot more than any terrorist has.
The media allows these candidates and misguided columnists/reporters to shape our perception of how we view others. People who want to harm anyone to further his or her name are driven by terroristic ideals, regardless of religion and race. Dylan Roof (South Carolina Shooter), Timothy McVeigh (Oklahoma City bombing), John Allen Muhammad (D.C. sniper), Lee Boyd Malvo (D.C. sniper) and the KKK can be called terrorists. These people killed to gain an upper hand on others to further their own agendas. All of these terrorists vary between black and white. Americans can be terrorists as well, so one cannot generalize someone else from another country in hopes of keeping them out because you believe it will cause our nation destruction. People in our own nation cause our nation destruction.
Sometimes to create your perception you need to diversify your horizons and experience different groups for yourself. I attended Diwali Lights this past October for a class assignment and it was the most enjoyable event I have experienced here at Mississippi State University. We attend a university that has large quantities of diversity, so it is your job to get out of your comfort zone to experience other cultures. Sometimes you have to be uncomfortable for a while to meet others different from you but good can come of it. So, stop watching TV and getting your cultural perception from a news channel that only wants ratings. Go meet others different from you so you can become more educated about different topics other Americans face. That is the only way we can further our cause because no matter what ethnicity you are, we are all from the same race; the human race.
